Melody In Black: Espirt de Corps
by HosekiDragon
Summary: Sequel to MIR2. The effect of so many deaths weighing on his mind, Danny's resigned to shut himself down and block out the world; unwilling to ever 'go ghost' again. He doesn't want to be a hero anymore. And the Observers couldn't agree more.
1. Better of Worse?

Yes, unbelievably, there is a sequel to MIR2. Welcome to 'Melody in Black: Espirt de Corps'. (That's Latin for 'Spirit of the Group') Get ready for a bucket-load of angst and trauma.

**One: Better or Worse?**

"_Each of us is born to follow a star, be it bright and shining or dark and fated. Sometimes the paths of these stars will cross, bringing love or hatred. However, if you look up at the skies on a clear night, out of all the countless lights that twinkle and shine, there will come one. That star will be seen in a blaze, burning a path of light across the roof of the earth, a great comet. Think these words as my tale unfolds. Mayhap you will learn something valuable, not about stars, but of the value friendship brings." –Rillbrook the Wanderer, 'The Outcast of Redwall' by Brian Jacques_

* * *

"The Observant High Court will now commence." Said one Observer, raising his hands for silence and, when the other Observers had quieted, he turned to face one of the cylindrical containment units used to hold ghosts being judged by the High Court, "On trial, Daniel Fenton; aka Danny Phantom; for causing mass amounts of damage to the human world, avoiding death, forcefully altering your own future, and endangering the order of the Ghost Zone."

In the containment unit, his hands pressed against the glass even though is wrists were bound together, stood a very scared looking fifteen year old boy with shockingly white hair and wide, terrified, brilliant green eyes. Danny had been snatched up by the Observers right in front of Sam and Tucker while they'd been 'hanging out' and dragged off to the Ghost Zone where he now stood amongst the Observers who were against him living anyway.

"Daniel Fenton, do you deny these charges?" The same Observer asked, leering at the boy through the glass. Danny squeaked and fell back against the opposite wall, sliding to the floor with an empty groan. He didn't feel like talking to these ghosts; they didn't understand what it was like to lose the only foot hold you had on life, to watch it crumble away beneath you, to fail on such an exponentially high level, threatening the world.

"Answer, halfa, do you deny these charges!?" An electrical charge shot down from the top of the containment unit and Danny screamed in agony as the electricity tore at his body before slumping to the floor again, gasping.

"I…I…" He wheezed, his voice hoarse, "I didn't…do…anything…you just…want me out of…the picture! I'm not…going to turn…evil anymore!"

"Your actions in the earlier months prove otherwise!" Snapped another Observer, "You have let the darkness inside you boil in your heart and it is on the verge of consuming you!"

"Shut…up…!" Danny pushed himself to his feet again, with some difficulty as his wrists were still bound, "I don't have to…take this sort of crap…from you people!" Another blast of electricity set him to the floor of the containment unit again.

"That's enough." Hissed a familiar voice and Clockwork swirled into view, fingers tight on his staff and red eyes glowing fiercely. This intimidating appearance was lost as he shifted forms into a toddler.

A hush fell over the Observers and Danny managed to get himself into a more upright position, his forehead resting against the glass, heavy-eyed. Clockwork shot a sympathetic look his way, one that clearly read: 'I am sorry about your situation but don't say I didn't warn you.' Danny scowled weakly at him and glared at the floor. Of course, the Ghost of Time was right. Had he, Danny, not been so arrogant and paid a little more attention…so many things could have been better.

"Clockwork," The first Observer growled, "Though you are responsible for the future of the halfa, you have no jurisdiction when we take matters into our own hands!"

"He's fifteen!" Clockwork snarled; Danny had never seen the Master of Time this angry before, "He knew nothing about it! He could do nothing to stop it! He's only a teenager! How could he possibly cope with tremendous amount of problems life has just thrown at him!"

"What life gives him is not yours or our problem!" The Observer replied in a clipped voice and this sentence was met with a short roar of approval from the other Observers, "It is our problem, however, when the darkness inside him threatens the well-being of both worlds!"

"Teenagers…!" Clockwork seethed, grinding out every word, his young man form pulsing with rage, "Should not…! Have to deal…! With…! **Death**…!"

Shouts of rage echoed through the High Court as Observers shook their fists in the Ghost of Time's general direction, cursing him for his interference. Clockwork ignored them and turned his attention to Danny. It looked as though the boy had simply shut down; his green eyes had filmed over and he was drooping against the glass of the containment unit in such a pathetic sort of way that, for a moment, Clockwork wished he was able to reverse what had happened. But he could not. Such a colossal U-turn of time could easily destroy the delicate threads of time and that was something Clockwork was not going to risk for anything.

"Silence!" Shouted the first Observer and then trained his gaze on Clockwork who seemed to be ignoring him for the most part, "The Observant High Court will retreat into council for the time as we discus what to do with the halfa know as Danny Phantom. And when we return…he had better be right where we've left him."

And they were gone. All of them. Just like that. Clockwork was glad for their absence, it gave him the chance to speak to Danny alone. The Ghost of Time dropped to the floor in front of the containment unit, leaning against his staff and rapping his knuckles on the glass. Danny blinked, the glaze over his green eyes vanishing, and glared daggers at Clockwork.

"What do you want?" He snapped, curling his knees up to his chin and cupping his bound wrists over his ankles, "Come to tell me how much I've failed?"

Clockwork shook his head, "You are a stubborn one, Danny, more so even than Plasmius."

"I try." The boy spat though it didn't have as much heart in it as it usually would have. Then again, Danny seemed to have lost a lot of heart since the incident.

"You know, they could very well take away your ghost powers for this."

"I could care less," Danny muttered, hiding his face in his knees, "It'd be a blessing compared to living in the constant state of regret all the time."

"And if you didn't have your ghost powers, how would you protect your remaining friends?"

"Shut up, just shut up!" Danny screamed, jerking upright so he could look Clockwork right in the eye, "You have no idea what it's like to be me! You have no idea how hard it is to keep a secret like this from my family! To have to come up with lies for every scrape and bruise! To hide the fact that my dad's best friend is my mortal enemy! To try and convince them that everything's fine and I'm not skipping school and I'm not hiding things and I'm not thinking about suicide and-!"

He stopped, tears rolling down his face, realizing what he'd just admitted to himself. After everything that had happened he'd thought about trying to take the easy way out. Like a coward.

"I'm such an idiot…" He moaned and Clockwork sighed, pressing a hand, fingers splayed, on the glass of the containment unit, "I try and protect everyone and I fail…I try to set things right and I fail…I try and do the right thing and I'm accused of doing wrong…" He looked sadly up at the Ghost of Time, a small, sad smile on his pale lips, "Geez, Clockwork, looks like I'm always gonna need you there to shove me in the right direction…"

"Danny, Danny, Danny," Clockwork sought his words for a moment, "Before you go getting angry at me for what I'm about to say I just want you to know that no matter what the Observants do I'm not going to let them kill you or harm anyone you care for." Danny nodded slowly in response, "Now, this is all your fault you know." Danny's green eyes glowed with anger, "Ah, see, what did I tell you. You never listen to me, Phantom, and you never did."

"_And even if I wanted to I wouldn't do it! I won't mess up the time stream for a selfish brat like you! Selfish, selfish Phantom…" _

Danny bit back his rage.

"And you're still not listening." Clockwork smiled, his form an old man's now, the words seeming to hold much more wisdom and meaning, "Teenagers, they never can get anything to stick in their heads. Danny, I can't watch your back continually; I have to maintain the time stream and watch people's lives; and I can't make all your choices for you. You're not going to become Dan Phantom, that alone I can promise…" Danny's green eyes met with Clockwork's warm, vivid red ones, "But your future from now is in your own hands. What you do with it is your choice and no one else's. Do you understand me, Danny? **No one else can tell you who you are**…!"

Danny blinked at him for a moment or two and then grinned, but it was empty.

"Morbid old man…" He muttered and then turned his attention to the Observer who had appeared through a doorway, "Guess our little party is over…" He kept watching the Observer, now followed by many others, move closer and closer, still talking to the Master of Time but not looking at him, "See you on the other side, Clockwork."

The Ghost of Time did not respond but backed away from the containment unit as the Observers approached. He sensed a storm a on the horizon. Several of those blasted Observers, circled around behind him to get a bet view of what was going to happen to Danny. Apparently, it was something they were going to enjoy and it sent a raw churning through Clockwork's gut. Well, metaphorically speaking.

"Daniel Fenton," An Observer stepped forward, "The High Court has reached a decision on your case." A second containment unit dropped down the shadows of the vaulted ceiling though it was empty, "Is there anything that should be said in your defense?"

Clockwork knew they were playing up the rules. And he also knew what it was they were planning to do and he hadn't even looked into the future. He merely put two and two together. And he couldn't let it happen.

"What do you think you're doing!?" The Ghost of Time lunged forward, staff in hand, ready to freeze time, when several armed guards grabbed his arms and pulled him back, stopping him, "Let…**go** of me! Danny, get out of there!"

"Clockwork!" Danny was on his feet in an instant but he wasn't quite fast enough.

"Commence the separation!" The Observer shouted, raising a hand as a signal, and the containment units both lit up with blinding flares of green-white light.

"Stop!" Clockwork shouted but it was of little use. It had already started and to try and stop it now could be dangerous. Clockwork slumped, toddler formed, in the tight grasps of the guards,

"Good-bye…Danny Phantom…"

* * *

If I screwed some stuff up in here, sue me. I hate the Observers, they should all freaking die…! Poor Clockwork, he tries to help and BOOM it blows up in his face. Didn't see it coming, huh? Guess he got a little preoccupied with some other business; probably being pissed at Danny for being a moron.

And, yeah, that last line…it'll mean something big in the next chapter. Also, the line that's italicized, 'cause it's a flashback, is from a one shot idea I had but will probably never post.

But you're gonna have to wait for me to continue this because first I must finish 'Shadows Are Supposed to Stay Sleeping'. I have many a people waiting for it. I think. Ah well, I'll leave you with this teaser for a while and then maybe sometime or another get back to it.

Please don't kill me.


	2. Danny Fenton

Alright, alright, alright, so I lied **again**! But I really want to write this one! I love it! I already have so many ideas of where this is going to go! Maybe it'll shock some of you and maybe it won't. Please enjoy…!

On a side note, this chapter starts with a flashback, I thought I should make that clear.

**Two: Danny Fenton**

"_You said you were the all powerful Danny Phantom, didn't you boy?" Clockwork asked in a slightly mocking tone, spinning his staff around in his fingers, his back to the figure curled up in a chair, "You claimed it never happens to you? You boldly stated that you were unstoppable? I did warn you before." The Time Ghost turned around, cloak billowing, "I did warn you about the dangers and trials ahead of you but you didn't listen. And now you've paid dearly for it."_

"_I don't…" Danny cut himself off, his face still buried in his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs, "You can't make it better?" His voice was muffled._

"_I told you I cannot!" Clockwork snapped, his form changing into a toddler's, "And even if I wanted to I wouldn't do it! I won't mess up the time stream for a selfish brat like you!" He changed into a young man, "Selfish, selfish Phantom…" He growled._

_Danny whimpered, shoulders shaking, and Clockwork felt a pang of guilt and sympathy. The boy was only that; a boy, a fifteen year old boy with the responsibility of the world sitting on his shoulders. _

"_Danny," Clockwork changed again, this time into an old man with a trailing beard, "I cannot possibly understand the torture you feel, I cannot comprehend why you continue to dwell on these thoughts when they hurt you so, and I cannot believe that you, of all people, would give up life so easily."_

"_You don't get it…!" Danny's voice rasped from his curled up position, he hadn't moved an inch, "No one does! If I hadn't been so…so __**stupid**__ I might have been able to do something about it! Anything would have been better than what happened!"_

"_Are you so sure about that?" It was the tone in the Ghost of Time's voice that made those red-rimmed, puffy green eyes look up, "Are you absolutely certain that anything would have been better?"_

"_It's all questions with you…"_

"_Precisely. I don't meddle with certainties, Danny, I focus on what could happen, not what will. The flow of time must continue."_

Danny cracked his eyes open, shying away from the memories, and stared at the metal ceiling of the lab, feeling stiff and beaten. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened; he recalled Clockwork telling him to "get out" and then a painfully bright light but then there was a sort of static in his mind and…and…

Danny sat up, rubbing his head, groaning softly. Whatever the Observers had done, Clockwork hadn't wanted it to happen; probably hadn't seen it coming; and Danny wasn't at all sure exactly **what** had happened anyway. The silence in his parent's lab was profound, no noise from any of the upper floors coming down the stairs, and he figured they must have kicked him out of the Ghost Zone and back into his home. The boy decided he hated the Observers for giving him so much grief about every little detail and he also decided to be pissed at Clockwork for…for everything that had happened.

"Stupid Clockwork…!" Danny growled, "Stupid Observers…! Stupid Yulcifer…!" He stopped half way through the motion of standing up, his hand on the table beside him, grimacing with a past memory, "Stupid, stupid, stupid me…"

He ran his fingers through his black hair, scowling, and headed up the stairs. The house appeared empty. Of course, judging from the sky outside, it was probably around midnight or something. Danny wondered just how long he'd been in that containment unit with the Observers. Stumbling through the kitchen, he tripped over a chair and slammed into the floor, taking it noisily down with him. Thunder rumbled upstairs and the next thing he knew he was looking up the barrel of a rather large and unfriendly looking ecto-gun.

"Danny?" The gun swung away and his father picked him up off the floor, "What're you doing down there? I thought you were over at Tucker's?"

"At T-Tucker's?" Danny wondered out loud. Had that been the only thing his two best friends could think of? And what did Tucker's parents think? And why the heck was his head still buzzing with static?

"Danny!?" Jazz was rubbing her eyes sleepily, "What're you doing here!?"

"I…I…I was…" Danny stuttered around for a remark, the memories of the past three weeks flooding back, blocking his thoughts, reminding him that for those twenty-one days he'd been nothing but depressed and hating himself for his failures., "I…sleepwalking…" He finished lamely, forcing a stupid grin.

"You were sleepwalking all the way from Tucker's house back here?" His mother had come down the stairs now, "And you got through the locked front door?"

"Eh…?" Danny helplessly looked at Jazz but she had her eyes narrowed at him, suspicious of his sudden change from verge-of-emo to I'm-an-idiot, "I-it wasn't locked…"

"Jack, honey," Maddie Fenton put her hand on Jack's side since she couldn't exactly reach his upper arm, "Didn't I tell you to lock it tight…!?"

"Erm…" Jack screwed his face up and looked like he was trying to remember exactly what he'd done.

"Mom, it's fine…I'll…I'll just call Tucker and let him know I'm back here. And Sam too." Danny shook his head, trying to clear it off the static that still fuzzed his thoughts with memories he'd rather not recall, "I'm tired. 'K?"

And before anyone could say anything else he'd dodged past them all and run up the stairs, slamming the door to his room and locking it tight. Falling back on his bed, he rubbed his temples to get his thoughts moving in the right direction, trying to put two and two together.

The Observers had snatched him up…locked him in that stupid containment unit…there'd been a lot of shouting and talking…Clockwork…Clockwork had preached at him for a while…and then…and then there was that light and that strange feeling and…

Danny's blue eyes blazed as he leapt to his feet, thrust his arms into the air, fists clenched, and paused, hesitating, wondering if he actually wanted to try this again. His old life was dead. That was his fault, he'd chosen not to 'go ghost' ever again. But…it wasn't like he was about to go **fight** or anything.

"I'm…going ghost." He said in a low voice, squeezing his eyes shut. Nothing happened, "I said, I'm going ghost." Still nothing. He thrust his fists into the air again, "Goin' ghost!" He started to smile, to really smile for the first time in a while, "I'm not going ghost…!" He swung his arms to his sides and snatched up his cell phone, slamming his finger on the speed dial for Sam's phone that he hurt himself.

"Come on…" He murmured, tapping his foot on the floor, rocking back forth impatiently, "Come on, Sam, pick up…"

* * *

Sam heard her phone going off on the stand beside her bed and scowled in her half sleep, wondering vaguely what darned underworld fiend would call her at this time of night. Heck, even **she** needed sleep. It rang a final time and she heard her voicemail catch it.

"Hey, you've somehow managed to reach the dark depths of Sam Manson's room. If you have anything important to say you'll leave a message after the tone."

Beeeeep.

"_**SAM!"**_

Danny's voice screaming from her machine made her jump, get tangled in the covers, leap for the phone, knock it off the stand, and scramble to catch it, hanging half in and half out of her bed, holding it to her ear when she did.

"D-Danny? When'd you get back?"

"_Just tonight! Hey, get Tuck on the line, will you!?"_

Sam pressed a button and waited as the dial tone rang in her ear.

"_Mmmmhp,"_ A sleepy voice moaned at the other end of the line, _"This had better be good Sam, I was actually sleeping for once…"_

"_Hey Tucker!"_

"_Danny!? When did you-!?"_

"Hold up there, Tucker!" Sam cut them both off, "Danny, what's wrong with you?"

"_Huh? What do you mean? Everything's fine! Everything's totally awesome!"_

"_Dude, you know, she's right. I keep waiting for the part where you scream that someone's got a gun to your head and not to come save you."_

"_If someone had a gun to my head, I wouldn't put you guys in danger for the world."_

"Then what is it, fess up Fenton."

There was an insane sort of giggle of laughter from the other end of the line.

"_My ghost powers…!"_ Danny sniggered.

"—_You're ghost powers what?"_

"—You're ghost powers what?"

Tucker and Sam said these lines at the same time and there was another spurt of triumphant laughter from the other end. Danny sounded genuinely happy. It was strange; he'd been so depressed and upset with himself for so long that Sam longed to see him smiling on the other end.

"_Gone!"_ Danny's voice cried happily, _"They're gone! I don't ever have to worry about them again!"_

"_Wh-what!?"_ Tucker was in such a shock that his voice had risen practically two whole octaves, _"Dude! You can't be serious! Why is that a __**good**__ thing!?"_

"_Don't you get it!?"_ Danny's voice had lost its happy edge and was in a cross between grief ridden and angry, _"I'm free! I don't have to worry about watching anyone else…This way, no one's going to come after me!"_

"Danny!" Sam snapped, now furious with him, "You were unique! You were a hero! You-!"

"_I know!"_ Danny snarled back, _"That's exactly why I couldn't take it anymore! Everyone expected me to save the day! That's what they always saw from me! But I failed once and what if it happens again only worse!? What if the whole town goes!?"_

"_Danny, no one knows that Danny Phantom was at the park."_ Tucker murmured, _"And now what're they going to say when he doesn't show up for while, huh? They're already getting suspicious, dude."_

"_I…I don't care."_ Danny's voice was so cold, Sam thought the phone would turn to ice in her hand, _"I want to be…to be __**normal**__! I can't stand this anymore!"_ Now his voice was quivering with tears, _"Gah…Sam it hurt so much…"_

There was a click that signaled that Tucker had hung up the phone.

"Danny…Danny, why did you do it?"

"_Me? I didn't do it."_

"Then who did?"

"_The Observers."_

* * *

I pulled a 'Phantom Planet' on this chapter. Keep in mind, please, that I started the _Melody_ series before I saw 'Phantom Planet' so anything that happens after, say 'The Ultimate Enemy' (approximately) doesn't effect this fan fiction.

Obviously, Danny felt the horrid pressure of being a hero after he realized that he couldn't always succeed and felt that, without his ghost powers, everything would be better. I guess we'll find out if he was right or not.


	3. Consequences

I got stuck on 'Shadows Are Supposed to Stay Sleeping' again and I have so many awesome plans for this that I just had to keep going!

**Three: Consequences **

It wasn't right. It didn't feel right, it didn't look right, it just wasn't morally right. None of it was. It had happened once before but that was on a completely different and idiotic scale; personalities ripped apart rather than beings. But now…now it was strange. There was a weird buzzing in his head that hadn't gone away for the past couple of hours though it had dwindled away slowly. It was dull here, and boring, and it wrecked havoc on his consciousness. It wasn't supposed to be this way!

* * *

"I can't believe your trusting **me**, of all people, to do this…!"

"You're the only one who'd have a chance."

"I could kill you right now and get it over with."

"You could…but you won't."

"Darn you. How do know he's not just going to start blasting me, huh? I'd say he's more than inclined to! He **hates** me!"

"Not with the peril he's about to go through. He'll see the light, trust me."

"Trust you…ha!"

"They'll both die if you don't help."

"Like I care…!"

"Alright then, I suppose, since you don't want to help…"

"No! No…I…I hate your guts. I'd blast you away now if there weren't so many things on the line…!"

"On the line for you or for him?"

"For both of us, darn it! I mean, all three of us! Or whatever! It doesn't matter!"

"Your tune changes awfully quickly."

"Heh, if you'd spent almost three years in that dratted, cursed piece of junk with nothing to do but think about the crap you've done and been through you're tune'd be changed too."

"Hmmm…I'm prone to believe you however I still don't trust you. We act a week from now."

"T-what!? A whole **week**!? They could destroy him by then!"

"He'll live."

A feral snarl of disobedient rage.

* * *

Danny wandered the streets, towing Sam and Tucker along behind him. It was the weekend after he'd gotten back from the Observers and everyone was shocked by the sudden change in the boy's attitude. When asked, he merely replied that life had taken a turn for the better and walked off grinning.

Not that Sam and Tucker weren't glad to have the old Danny back it was just that sometimes, when they knew he thought they weren't looking, he'd stare off into space with a blank look on his features, remembering…something. Sam thought that perhaps, however much he acted like he didn't, Danny really wanted his ghost powers back.

"You know, the arcade's open, we could hang out there!" The Fenton boy said cheerfully, hands in his pockets, stopping at a cross-walk where the cars were zipping through the green light, "What do you-DUCK!"

He grabbed Sam and Tucker and dove to the ground just as a missile spun over their heads and exploded in the traffic light, creating a perfect chaos. Coughing from the smoke, the trio pushed themselves to their feet.

"Hello whelp…!" Skulker leered through the thick plumes of dark gray, pointing a gun right at Danny's temple, "I'll have your hide this time!"

"Back off!" Danny whipped a tiny ecto-gun out of his pocket and fired a powerful blast from the dinky thing, blasting the 'Greatest Hunter' backwards through the air, before turning to his friends, "Run! Now! I'm right behind you, I swear!"

Tucker ran and Sam took off after him but, glancing over her shoulder, she found that Danny was not following. She started to run back to him when one of Skulker's missiles exploded into the concrete, sending dangerous slabs of cement into the air, and she had to back off again. It was impossible to see through all the debris and smoke that was everywhere.

Danny, meanwhile, was dodging as best he could. Without his ghost powers he was nothing more than the klutzy fifteen year old he had always been and it was proving to be his end. He'd already tripped and ripped his jeans open, sporting a bloody gash on his knee, and one of the smaller flying pieces of rubble had knocked him on his cheek, making his head spin as he fell. He spat out blood as he pushed himself upright, putting a hand against the stinging cut. That had sent the ecto-gun he'd been using to fight back into the air and now he had no hope of finding it. It was only a matter of time now…

"Well, Ghost Boy, why don't you transform!?" Skulker was obviously angry that, while he had this beautifully opportune moment to 'take Danny's hide', he was not getting as much fight out of his prey as he would have liked, "Is this some new trick!?"

"Not a trick, Skulker…" Danny snapped, standing unsteadily on his feet, "I'm just…not a halfa anymore…"

Skulker lapsed into a thoughtful and rather angry silence as he studied Danny with narrowed, robotic eyes. This gave Danny a chance to franticly search for the tiny ecto-gun he'd lost. It was nowhere to be found and 'The Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter' was not about to let him look for it.

"Then I think I'll just kill you." The ghost rumbled, cocking one of his laser guns and pointing it straight at Danny's heart, "You have wasted my time, unworthy prey."

"Wh-what!?" There was no witty banter in the world that could combat that statement, "Skulker, hold on! I'm not interesting anymore, sure, but you don't have to **kill** me!"

"Silence, foul human child! You have wasted too much of the Greatest Hunter's time!"

"Stop repeating yourself!"

"Stop backing away, filth!"

"Like living brimstone I will!" Danny leaped backwards at the same moment that Skulker fired his weapon. The blast hit Danny in the chest, ripped a nice sized hole in his shirt, sprayed blood everywhere, and sent the boy flying right towards a dangerously sharp looking pile of shrapnel that had been a car at one point.

"TIME OUT!"

Everything froze.

* * *

I wonder who that could be…? Care to venture some guess? Just leave them in the reviews if you want to take a stab at who some people are. XD


	4. Saved

Still stuck. Me likey where this is going. I'm going to keep writing it until I get more reviews for 'SASTSS'. XP

I like to think that Clockwork doesn't really **need** his staff to manipulate time (etc), he just has it for show. But he's had it around so much over the centuries that his ectoplasmic, time controlling signature has sort of seeped into it so anyone who, say, knicked it from him could still use it for a short period of, uh, time. Just a little insight that may be important to the essence of this chapter.

**Four: Saved**

"Like living brimstone I will!" Danny leaped backwards at the same moment that Skulker fired his weapon. The blast hit Danny in the chest, ripped a nice sized hole in his shirt, sprayed blood everywhere, and sent the boy flying right towards a dangerously sharp looking pile of shrapnel that had been a car at one point.

"TIME OUT!"

Everything froze.

The smoke stopped billowing into the air, Sam stopped mid-run to get to Danny even if she wouldn't make it, Skulker stopped his cry of victory, his fist half way into the air, and young Danny Fenton hung in the midst of it all like a puppet on strings, a thin stream of blood flying from his chest, his blue eyes wide with pain and shock.

In the middle of all this eerie stillness there was a swirl of blue and portal spun into life in center of the street. A figure shrouded in a thick, heavy dark violet cloak floated out and looked around, their face hidden by the hood. All that could be seen was a solemn mouth sent into a frown of discontent, pale, bluish-green-white skin, a stretch of black across the left cheek in the shape of a lightning bolt, and a white goatee.

The mysterious figure looked around and then reached into the folds of their cloak and pulled out a shiny object on a thick cord with one gloved hand, the other hand occupied by a tall staff with a V-shaped head, a clock sitting in the middle of it. At the base of the V-shape were several spikes sticking out at least two inches and at the bottom of the staff was a wickedly curved blade.

Back to the shiny object on the string.

The cloaked figure swept up to Danny and dropped the cord of the object around Danny's neck but before Danny could go flying as a scream tore from his throat, the figure caught him in his arms, holding him close to his chest. Danny, nearly unconscious with pain, groaned and his eye lids fluttered, blue eyes dim as they tried to focus on their savior.

"C-Clockwork…?" He rasped and then passed out cold.

The figure smiled coolly, looked around one last time, noticed Skulker, and snorted angrily. Still supporting Danny with one arm; the staff still clutched in their hand; the figure reached once again into their cloak and this time pulled out a Fenton Thermos with a rubber band and paper around it. They uncapped it easily with a flick of their thumb, pointed it at Skulker, sucked the ghost inside, recapped it, and placed it in Sam's outstretched hand. Satisfied with their work, the figure turned to the blue portal and vanished inside, the portal itself blinking out like a light.

"Time In…!"

* * *

"—AAAANNNYYYYY—huh?" Sam stopped running forward and looked around, totally confused. Hadn't Danny just been flying through the air about to be impaled on the wreckage of a car? Hadn't Skulker been hovering over there, laughing over his victory? And where did this Fenton Thermos in her hand come from?

As police sirens wailed in the distance, Sam bolted into a nearby alley, hoping that Tucker got away safely and had the sense not to come back. Most likely he was already at home going through a therapy session with his PDA. As she sagged against the wall, she noticed that the Thermos had a note attached to it via a rubber band. She tugged it out, unfolded it, and read…

_Sam, Tucker, and Jasmine,_

_Stay in the Human World and whatever you do, do __**not**__, under any circumstances, enter the Ghost Zone. The Observers have (amazingly) taken matters into their own hands for the moment and have disrupted things to the point where certain people could be losing their lives. I have taken Danny and will be setting everything right. If Walker or the Observers catch you in the Ghost Zone you will, no doubt, find yourselves under very painful circumstances. Danny is safe for the moment; I promise you that._

_-Clockwork_

Sam rolled her eyes and then noticed the slightly sloppy, slightly familiar scrawl at the bottom of the paper.

_However much he annoys me, I agree. Stay away from the Ghost Zone. We'll sort it out. And I _–there was quite a bit of scribbled out portions that Sam couldn't make out—_ took care of Skulker for you._

_A Ghost You Forgot_

* * *

It was the shouting that woke him up. He figured that he'd survived the blast from Skulker since pain stabbed him in his abdomen but those voices…whose were they?

"—to be falling over yourself with guilt!? To know that, even though you had the chance to stop it, you didn't!? No, Clocky, I don't think you do!"

"Don't talk back to me that way! I'll stick right back where you belong if you don't start shaping up!"

"Oh trauma, you're starting to sound like my mom…!"

"Ahah, that's very funny. I should never have left you to your own devices; the restraint should be more powerful."

"Believe me when I say it doesn't need to be. You just didn't use the right words."

"Words like: shut up and go hide before our guest wakes up?"

Danny stirred and opened his eyes, gasping at the pain, struggling to breathe correctly. He swiveled his gaze around him, taking in the numerous clocks and pendulums and gears that were all around him. Obviously he was in Clockwork's lair. The Fenton boy slowly, agonizingly slow, turned his head and saw the Ghost of Time in the form of an old man with a trailing white beard, leaning on his staff, blinking sorrowfully at him. Rage bubbled inside Danny.

"What the heck do you want!?" He shouted and immediately regretted it as he spat up some blood.

"Easy there, Danny." Clockwork muttered but made no move to assist him, "You're still a little banged up."

"Like I hadn't-hold on a minute." Danny pushed himself into a sitting position, pressing a hand against the badges wrapped around his bare waist, "You saved me, didn't you? When Skulker blasted me, you stopped time and saved me…!"

The now buck-toothed toddler Clockwork shrugged, looking indifferent, "Maybe." Danny's scowl made the Ghost of Time grin, "Glad to see you've got your temper back; it's been rather boring watching you mope around all day."

"And that's why you didn't see it coming when the Observers took away my ghost powers." Danny sneered, eyes narrowing as tried to push Clockwork's buttons, "Kudos, I really don't care so you can stop watching me."

"No."

"I'd blast you if I had an ecto-gun. What're you going to tell my parents when they find out I'm missing? What about Sam and Tucker? And who were you arguing with?"

"First of all," Clockwork, in the form of a young man, swept away from Danny to float over to his view screen, "An ecto-gun would be no use against me whatsoever. Secondly, your parents are on vacation on some ghost hunting charade I sent them on and probably won't be back for a while. Jazz, Sam, and Tucker—thanks to **some people**—." He snarled out the two words angrily, "Know you're here. And, lastly, it was none of you business. Go to sleep."

"Make me." Danny said shortly, acting like a five year old; crossing his arms, sticking his nose in the air, and pouting.

"Don't…**test** me, Boy…!" Those red eyes were suddenly centimeters away from his own brilliant blue ones, "I've had enough lip from others and I don't want it from the likes of you!" Danny had forgotten just how cold ghosts were; Clockwork's presence this close to him was enough to make goosebumps erupt on his bare skin but the Time Ghost's icey breath on his face made him shiver, "You will sleep here until you're better, understand?"

Danny blinked at him, shocked. He hadn't seen Clockwork lose his temper this many times consecutively at all; even when the Observers were bothering him.

"What crawled up your butt and died…?" The Fenton boy growled as he lay on his side, facing the rest of the room. Clockwork snorted and turned away and Danny yawned, realizing that he actually **was** tired. He hadn't had a **real** night's sleep in a long time. Yawning again, he let his eyelids slide close. Just as his vision started to blur with sleep, he swore he saw a flash of black and white at the far end of the room, disappearing around a corner as though afraid he might see it.

* * *

I'm **still** not really giving away answers yet, am I? I guess I like keeping people in the dark though maybe I made it a little obvious in the last chapter who everyone was. I'm not that good at hiding things.

Still, if you want to make some guesses, be my guest…!

Thanks for reading and please review! Byes…!


	5. Breaking the Rules

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz scene! I apologize for the misunderstanding surrounding 'Melody in Red 2: Conspiracy of Crimson'. I had sincerely forgotten that I had placed the Melody series after 'The Ultimate Enemy' so I'm sorry for the confusion. So, to remind you all in correction to my folly, the Melody series **is** in fact **after** the whole incident with Dan Phantom etc, etc. Thank you for reading, the reviews, and your cooperation!

**Five: Breaking the Rules**

"Clockwork has Danny!?" Jazz blinked at Sam and Tucker from her perch on Tucker's bed, "And he wants us to stay away from the Ghost Zone!? Am I hearing you guys right?"

"Well, unless you've gained a sudden hearing problem by aging fifty years, no." Tucker muttered, swinging back and forth in his swivel chair, "At least, that's what his note says."

"But how do we know it was Clockwork?" The eldest Fenton child waved the note in the air for a moment, "And what about this…this 'Ghost You Forgot' business?"

"Tucker scanned it. It had Clockwork's ecto-signature on it. And Danny's too." Sam tapped her foot on the floor agitatedly, drumming her fingers on the arm rests of the other swivel chair, "So there's proof enough that they're together. As for the other notice…" She bit her lip, "The handwriting…it's so familiar. I just can't put my finger on it."

"What I wouldn't give for some awesome FBI calligraphy matching equipment right about now…" Tucker stated dreamily.

"Nerd." Sam muttered darkly.

"Sam, I have to agree with you on this." Jazz frowned at the note in her hands, "I swear I've—I got it!" Her eyes brightened and then darkened in confusion, "But…that really doesn't make sense."

"What?" Sam and Tucker asked simultaneously.

"I see this hand writing almost every single day. It's all over the house." Jazz was still looking at the paper, her brow furrowed, shaking her head, "It just doesn't make sense."

"Jazz, quit stalling. You're killing me." Tucker grumbled.

The red-head looked up at the two of them, the look of confusion in her eyes almost completely uncharacteristic,

"It's Danny's handwriting. A little sloppier, granted, but it's his all the same."

"But," Sam leaned forward, looking worried, "Why would we forget Danny?"

* * *

He watched him groan in his sleep and roll over, facing him. It was strange, seeming him like this. So helpless. So beaten. So utterly alone without what made him…**him**. There was an empty churning inside him and he started. Was that…was that sympathy? Sympathy for…for **this**!? Could it really be that maybe, just maybe, he still had a little of Danny left inside him after all?

No.

He was delusional. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he turned his attention back to the sleeping Fenton boy whose movements had caused some black hair to fall into his face. He smirked as he thought about it. He could go all mushy right here and do the whole 'I-care-about-you-more-than-anything-in-the-world-and-will-do-everything-to-protect-you-brush-his-hair-out-of-his-face-cliché' knowing Clockwork was watching him even though the Ghost of Time wasn't even in the room. Screw that. Danny had brought this misery upon himself by turning his heart inwards and wallowing in his own pain and suffering and it was because of that folly that he no longer had his ghost powers.

"Not…my fault." He growled, stalking away.

"Sam…don't…I can't…" Danny whimpered in his sleep, flopping onto his back on the makeshift bed, "I know I…Danny Phantom…Phantom…"

"Idiot." He muttered, glaring at the sleeping boy, "This is all your fault. You solve it. The only reason I haven't faded into nothing is because Clockwork…" He paused a moment, trying to think of a way to place the blame on the Time Ghost. He came up blank.

"Running away again, are you?" He swirled around and found himself face to face with Clockwork in the form of a young man, "I thought you were the 'hero' side of him, hm?"

"Hero…?" He murmured, turning his gaze to the floor that was inches below his feet, "Darn it Clockwork, don't you…" He snarled angrily and glared at the Master of Time, "Don't you dare freaking blame me! Or Danny! It was you and those stupid Observers! All of it! If it wasn't for your meddling, none of this would have happened!"

"If it wasn't for my meddling, **Phantom**," Clockwork said coolly, twirling his staff casually in his fingers, "Danny would have turned **evil**, so to speak."

He glowered at him, furious, rage boiling inside him,

"Don't…!" He hissed, "Call…! Me…! PHANTOM!"

"Calm down and go hide." Clockwork commanded, looking past him to watch Danny who was stirring from his nightmares into wakefulness, "He's waking up. And don't make a sound."

"Whatever." He said in a low voice and swept out of the room, "You'll see, Clocky," He murmured under his breath as soon as he was out of ear shot, "I don't care **what** you say about me! I'm going to set things right for Danny," His anger vanished and he slouched back against the cold stone wall, pressing a hand, fingers spread wide, on the glass of a nearby clock; its hands were spinning backwards rapidly, "In a way I never could for myself…"

* * *

Danny opened his eyes slowly, reached up and rubbed the sleep out of them, and then looked around, trying to remember where he was and how he'd gotten there. Oh yeah, that was right. Clockwork had saved him from Skulker.

"Awake?"

"No, I'm still sleeping." Danny turned his gaze on the Ghost of Time, "Duh, of course I'm awake. Some Time Master you are."

Clockwork, in the form of a toddler, chuckled to himself, looking amused and slightly relieved.

"You're sarcasm has returned as well. Always a good sign when you can be sarcastic." All signs of humor left the now young man Clockwork's face, "But, down to business. There are several things you should know."

"If it has to do with me trying to change my future, I don't want to hear it!"

"Listen to me for once, will you child!?" Clockwork chided, turning into a stern young man, "This isn't about other people's lives anymore, it's about **your** life!" The Ghost of Time took a deep breath and let it out slowly, regaining his temper, "Danny, I've told you before and I know I'll have to say it again. The Observers look at the time stream, or what they can see of it, like they're watching a parade; one event right after another, going by in sequence right in front of them. I see the parade from above—."

"—All the twist and turns it might or might not take, okay I get it." Danny snapped, "Like I want to be reminded of the problems my ghost powers caused me before…" He drew his knees up to his chin and clenched his jaw, speaking through his teeth, "Or could cause me in the future…"

"Yes, I know, it was a particularly hard trial for a youngster like yourself." The old man formed Ghost of Time wasn't angry or business like anymore, he was sad, "Facing the truth is one of the hardest things any of us must face and when it is the truth about ourselves…well, we try to escape from it." A sad smile adorned those wrinkled features that, as Danny starred at him, smoothed into the round face of a toddler again, "Danny, I try and help you as much as I can without altering the time stream too much because I see potential for you to do things that no one else would dare to do. You've faced horrors that others would never face in a million years and you've been hardened because of it."

"Hardened?" The boy muttered darkly, looking away, "You call what happened to me hardened? I was…I was pathetic." He couldn't stop the tears now, he'd been picking at the wound for the entire conversation, avoiding opening it up all together, but there was no dodging past it now, "ZeE," His voice cracked and he cleared his throat, "And Alex and all those thousands of other kids I didn't even know…they all died because I was so **stupid** and **arrogant** and…and…" He screamed wildly and threw a punch at the wall, drawing a shaking fist with bloody knuckles back to his side, "I messed up so bad…"

"We all make mistakes."

"Yeah, well, what's it matter to you? You can see the mistakes coming…!"

"On the contrary, think about what happened recently. If I had seen my mistake of not letting you out of that containment unit or stopping the Observers before they got to you do you think I would still have let it happen?" Clockwork shook his head, "No Danny, I cannot view **my** future and past the way I can view others' times. That is the curse of controlling and maintaining the time stream."

"I guess everything has its ups and down huh…?"

"Indeed it does. And this situation has some very severe ups and downs." Clockwork glanced over his shoulder, "And here is the up. You can quit hiding now, I know how anxious you are to see him. Get out here."

Danny rubbed his eyes and swung his legs over the edge of the makeshift bed, sitting in only his jeans as he leaned to the side, trying to see past the Master of Time. His face paled with fear and rage and his eyes widened in shock.

"Wh…what is **he** doing here!?"

* * *

Ooohhh, I know, it was cruel of me to end it like that but, hey, ya' know what, if I get enough reviews you might get another chapter. XD (laughs evilly) Anyway, if you're still guessing at who it is that's hanging around with Clockwork; the mysterious "he" character; all shall be exposed in the next chapter…!

Please leave me a review and thanks for reading! Byes!


	6. Taunting 'of the future'

I left you with a cliff-hanger with full intentions of not updating 'MIB' until I'd finished 'Shadows Are Supposed to Stay Sleeping.' I am such a liar. I couldn't help myself; I want to keep writing this at least until I get more (if any) reviews for 'SASTSS.' And now…the fun begins…

**Six: Taunting (of the future)**

The mystery of the note had to wait. Sam and Tucker couldn't exactly dive into the Ghost Zone when their parents were expecting them home to complete some homework and Jazz was not about to go in there by herself. Sitting alone at the kitchen table, she tapped her fingers on the surface, frowning at the scribbled handwriting.

_However much he annoys me, I agree._

Well, the certainly sounded like Danny. He enjoyed Clockwork's presence and assistance but was often irritated by the Ghost of Time's lectures and warnings. Danny didn't like to be told how to do things. Nor did he like it when someone told him off for doing something he believed was right.

_Stay away from the Ghost Zone._

A typical, protective Danny line. Nothing unusual there, really. There were plenty of times when he'd warned his friends and sister to stay out of a ghost fight for their safety. Most of the time they didn't listen to him and this might be one of those times. Danny didn't have his ghost powers anymore, he could barely protect himself, no matter how happy he felt about it and no matter if Clockwork was protecting him it still wasn't safe for Danny to be in the Ghost Zone without another human.

_We'll sort it out._

And that was were it started getting weird. By all logical means, Danny was never one to "sort things out." That was not his job. His job was to focus on the fighting; Danny rarely thought about **why** the ghosts were attacking him because there was usually a legitimate vendetta that was held against him. Jazz shook her head, tracing the line with one finger. If Clockwork was helping Danny, then her brother was probably deep in trouble.

Her eyes trailed to the numerous amount of scribbles blocking out the other words after the words '_and I_.' When Danny scribbled something out, it usually meant he didn't know what it was he wanted to say. But this…this was completely different. Jazz wasn't going into psychology for nothing; she knew how to recognize the status of a person's emotions by the way their handwriting was. The handwriting here indicated that the person; Danny; was confused, angry, determined, and possibly even worried. It was almost like he was fighting with himself.

_--took care of Skulker for you._

Well, yeah, that's what Danny did. He fought with ghosts, it was like past-time that he lived for. Or half-lived for. Whichever.

_A Ghost You Forgot_

That was what struck Jazz into confusion the most. '_A Ghost You Forgot_.' Why would she, Sam, and Tucker forget Danny? It was impossible to forget him. But the proof was clear; Danny's ecto-signature was on the note and-.

Jazz gasped and straightened up, slapping her palms on the table top. That was it! Danny's ecto-signature! He shouldn't have one! If Danny had lost his ghost powers because of the Observers then he shouldn't leave an ecto-signature! Jazz stood up so fast she knocked over her chair and reached for the phone. Sam and Tucker had to know about this.

* * *

Danny's head swam, his mind trying to wrap around the fact of who it was that was standing in front of him. Emotionally, he was rejecting the thought, the sight, of them but rationally he could not fight with himself. The cold, numbing shock made his limbs feel like frozen lead and he couldn't move, like he was trapped in a nightmare, seeped into him.

"Hello Danny, it's been a while." Dan Phantom smiled coldly, his sharp fangs prominent, the same smile that had chilled Danny the first time he'd met his evil future self, "You forgot about me, didn't you?"

He was the same. The same flickering, fiery white hair, the same burning, hate-filled red eyes, the same unearthly, pale bluish-green-white skin, and the same haunting, unsettling air around him. The only things that seemed to have changed were his outfit which no longer had the jagged bottomed cape; it had been replaced by dark purple cloak clasped at his throat by a silver button; and an odd black mark over his left eye like a mock of Clockwork's own mark; an upside down 'V' with one end, the side closest to the inside of his face, a simple curved end and the other the zig-zagged lightning dash.

But Danny still hated him. Hated him for what he had tried to do to his family and friends. Hated and feared him. Dan Phantom was all ghost and Danny…well, Danny wasn't anything ghost-like at all anymore. He was a normal, fragile, human.

Dan sneered at the look of mixed hate and fear he saw on his younger self and crossed his arms over his broad chest, turning his flaming red eyes on the Ghost of Time.

"I told you, Clocky, he hates me." The voice echoed, cold but not emotionless, "He'd never trust me, not if it took him a thousand years."

Clockwork let a small, half-smile creep onto his lips,

"And what have I told you before. Even your older self doesn't listen, Danny."

"MONSTER!" Danny screamed and, regardless of his injuries, threw himself at his future version, digging his fingers into Dan's shoulders and hooking his legs around his waist, furious blue eyes inches from those surprised red ones, "I SWORE IF I EVER HAD THE ENERGY TO KILL YOU AFTER WHAT YOU DID I'D DO IT!" Danny grabbed the front of Dan's shirt in one hand and drew back his other, fingers curling into a tight fist. But as he swung forward with a snarl of hatred, Dan Phantom snatched Danny's wrist, ripped him away from him, and slammed him into the wall.

"Don't make me laugh, Danny! You don't have the energy to kill the ghost of a fly let alone me!" He swept the groaning Fenton boy off the floor, suspending him in the air by his arm, "Does this feel familiar, boy? Well!? Does it!?" He shook Danny and the human yelped in pain as his arm twisted in its socket.

"That's **enough**!" Clockwork snapped, "Dan, put him down. Gently…!"

Growling and muttering fowl language, Dan Phantom lowered Danny carefully to the floor and stepped back, his fists clenched and shaking with rage. Red and green energy glowed off of his spectral body and Danny pushed himself to his feet, looking away. Clockwork's eyes narrowed as he swept his gaze from one to the other before settling on Danny.

"Danny, sit down, there are a lot of things to discuss and we don't have much time." Dan chuckled darkly, still floating inches off the floor, Clockwork scowled in his general direction, looking more like a kid who didn't get his way since he was in his toddler form.

"Why did you bring me here, Clockwork, for a lecture? Because that's all you've been doing." Danny was furious to be in the same room as Dan but plopped back down on the bed, holding a hand over his bandaged chest.

"Let me explain. Dan already knows so he can be quiet." The words were tense and Dan bared his fangs at Clockwork's back, "Danny, your ghost powers are not gone…they are simply separated from you. And you must get them back or your life could end sooner than it is supposed to. The Observers have, by making a decision I never thought they would, disrupted the entire time stream for your present future."

There was a silence in which Danny's eyes remained locked on the floor as though he was searching for something inside himself. Dan watched him through silted eyes that stilled burned with anger and Clockwork, now a young man, waited patiently for an answer. Finally, Danny slowly looked up at the Ghost of Time.

"No."

* * *

The Observers had seen fit that only one guard should remain outside the room, seeing as it wasn't like "it" could go anywhere. The guard, in question, was bored of standing outside the closet sized room with nothing to do. He yawned, stretched, and slouched at his post, not caring if the Observers berated him later or not.

A crash from inside the room made him jolt upright and swing around to go inside, only to forget about the door and slam right into it. Frustrated, he fumbled with the keys, unlocked the door, and kicked it open only to freeze in horror.

"It" was gone.

Somehow, "it" had broken the treated glass of the containment unit, blown a huge hole in the wall, and escaped!

The guard slouched forward. He was doomed now.

Outside, flying as fast and as far as he could, was a boy with shocking white hair and brilliant green eyes. At the moment, those brilliant green eyes were filmed with worry and fear. He blazed through the Ghost Zone towards the Fenton Ghost Portal, hoping against hope that it was open.

"I have to find him…" Danny Phantom murmured, biting his lip so hard a sliver of green ectoplasmic blood, welling from beneath his pale skin, "I have to find Fenton…!"

* * *

How do you like **them** snickerdoodles!? Okay, there's got to be some wicked feed-back on all these events! Yes, Dan Phantom is back! Hoo-rah! Next chapter (hopefully): the reason Fenton and Phantom need to join together again is revealed! And also why Clockwork let Dan out of the Thermos and why Dan actually listens to him! :D Happy days!

I've had a really good day so I felt like writing this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! Why it was a good day: I beat the GBA game 'The Ultimate Enemy' twice, once on hard mode and once on easy. Now have to get through those stupid bonus stage. Darn you Dan! You gave me too much trouble! RAWR! Alright, alright, alright, I'm sorry I ranted I just felt the need to.

Thanks for reading! See you soon! Byes!


	7. Don't Know What to Think

Well, that was disappointing, I must say. I was hoping for a much bigger reaction to Dan Phantom than the single review I got for it. Was it really that obvious? I only had one person take a stab at it so I figured no one else knew. Well, whatever, I guess I'll just let it go and keep writing…! Yeah…!

**Seven: Don't Know What to Think**

"No? What do you mean by no?" Clockwork seemed genuinely startled by the angry glare he was getting from Danny.

"I mean, no." Danny snapped, standing up, fists clenched, "I'm not going to be Danny Phantom anymore!" He let out a burst of insane laughter, looking happy, angry, and upset all at the same time, "I was **so** happy to get rid of them!"

"Danny-."

"Don't 'Danny' me, Clockwork!" The Fenton boy's features contorted strangely, his eyes shining brightly, "It's **my** turn to lecture! When I first got my ghost powers, I was absolutely terrified of them!" In the background, Dan Phantom nodded slowly, his features blank, "I didn't know **what** to think! I just fought off the ghosts coming through the active Fenton Portal as a reflex, I didn't really **think** about it. But then, as time passed, I started to think that maybe it was my lot in life, the one thing I was actually **meant** to do."

Dan's eyes narrowed slightly, he knew exactly what his younger self was talking about. The rush of being the hero, of protecting those you cared about and even those you didn't, was intoxicating. It made you feel powerful, like you could do anything.

And then it would explode in your face like super-heated Nasty Burger sauce.

"And you know what, I liked it." A shiver ran through Danny as the horrible memories he'd been trying to repress surfaced once again, bringing tears to his eyes, "I thought it was cool, fun, the best thing that had ever happened to me; besides making friends with Sam and Tucker." He furiously wiped the back of his hand across his watery blue eyes, "Dang it all, Clockwork, I thought we'd solved the problem of me losing people I want to protect! I thought that once you'd stopped the Nasty Burger from exploding I wouldn't have to worry about things like that anymore! I thought all of it would be better!" He took a deep, shaky breath, steadying himself, lowering his voice, "But then, all of a sudden, I get mixed up in this mess with thousands of kids I don't even know and make friends with two of them…only to be…only to watch them…only to let their lives slip through my fingers because I couldn't see what was happening…!"

And Danny Fenton broke down into tears. It was too much for a fifteen year old boy to take. He sank down to his knees on the stone floor of Clockwork's lair, face buried in his hands, sobbing, shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Clockwork made as if to talk to him but Dan Phantom brushed him aside, again with the blank expression, and, after a moment of hesitation, unclasped his dark violet cloak and tossed it over Danny's shoulders. Then he turned, and floated away. Clockwork watched him go, looked down at Danny who was still crying, and sighed.

"Danny, if you must protest so greatly against your ghost half, at least let me explain why, without them, it is a danger on your life." The Time Ghost continued to speak over Danny's cries, "The Observers had no clue what they were doing when they separated you two. In the process, it tore your DNA; both of yours. If you continue to remain as separate beings, your ruined DNA will break down and you will fade from existence. In other words, Danny, you will die a most painfully slow death." Clockwork turned his back on Danny, "Now ask yourself, is that what you really want?" And he too vanished from view into one of his other rooms.

Danny moaned, still crying, and curled over himself, wrapping the cloak tighter around him. It was like being submerged in snow.

* * *

Phantom tumbled head-over-heels out of the Fenton Ghost Portal and tensed, ready to get blasted by an ecto-gun. But the lab was empty; Fenton's—no, **his**—parents were no where around.

Confused by the lack of Jack and Maddie-ness, Phantom trailed up the stairs, his white boots centimeters above the floor, and into the kitchen, glowing green eyes flickering around. It seemed to be about six or seven on a Sunday morning which meant that either Jazz or Maddie would be waking up sometime soon. Phantom blinked in the dim light filtering in through the windows and turned invisible.

Footsteps on the stairs to the second floor.

He remained perfectly still, hovering on the threshold to the basement lab, confident that no one would see him.

Jazz rounded the corner, still in her pajamas, and yelped in surprise.

_It's okay, she can't see me._

"Danny!?"

_Oh no…_

* * *

Dan peered slowly around the edge of the wall, invisible, well out of Danny's line of sight anyway. The boy was curled back up on the make-shift bed in the corner, his eyes starring without seeing, unblinking, at the floor, the cloak still around his shoulders. There were dried streaks of salty tears on his cheeks and a puffy, red quality under his dull blue eyes. It was like a spark had gone out inside him. Again.

Clockwork had showed Dan the events that had lead up to Fenton and Phantom being separated and then explained exactly why they had to be together again. Dan didn't know who to place the blame on. In his own time, when he'd first lost his family and friends, he'd blamed himself but as time wore on and he became more and more evil, he'd come to realize that it was not himself he should be blaming but the world. It was the fault of the world and everyone in it. So they had to go. And that's why he'd started to destroy everything. Because he hated it.

And now Danny had gone through practically the same thing; losing people he wanted to protect, realizing he was not "all powerful", and locking himself up inside. Dan sneered. At this rate, Danny would end up just like him. The sneer dropped. Maybe he'd wanted that to happen back then but now…

_Now Clockwork's got me on a leash._ He traced one finger over the mark on his eye, _But then again, I agreed to this, didn't I? He'd let me out of the Fenton Thermos if I agreed to help and in return he'd send me back to my own time with no problems from the Observers._ His invisible fangs were bared in an invisible grin, _Almost three years in that blasted thermos…priorities change, don't they. Had I been let out two years earlier, I probably would have shot down everything. Now, though…_

Dan's gaze refocused on Danny. He was helping himself, not the selfish little brat he used to be. Still, what had compelled him to do such a sentimental gesture as wrapping his cloak around the shoulders of a sobbing teenager? He had no humanity. He was entirely ghost.

Grunting to himself, he passed it off as the notion of "I'm helping Clockwork" and returned to invisibility. Time to see if Danny was willing and ready to become Phantom again. If he wasn't going to listen to Clockwork on the matter, he sure wasn't going to listen to his evil future self. Then again, Dan was on orders. Orders he couldn't reject.

* * *

"Jazz, I'm not Danny! At least, not Danny Fenton!" Phantom dropped to the floor, waving his hands in the air as soon as he realized he hadn't actually turned invisible.

Jazz gave him a quizzical look, tense, like she was ready for anything which she probably was knowing the Fenton household. Phantom himself was amazed that the alarm system hadn't gone off as soon as he'd stepped into the house. After a moment or two of sizing him up, Jazz straightened, walked over to the table and swept up a piece of paper before walking over and shoving it in his face.

"Did you write this?"

Phantom quickly scanned it.

"No."

"It has Danny's ecto-signature on it. Which it shouldn't have because he doesn't have his ghost powers anymore!" She waved it in his face a little, looking angry and upset at the same time, "So tell me, how come you look like him!?"

"I…I…I am…I'm Phantom." He muttered lamely, "Really Jazz, I'm Danny's ghost half." He cringed back from the cold, disbelieving look she was giving him, "You know how Danny lost his ghost powers? Well, he didn't exactly **lose** them…it was more like…we were separated. Like the whole incident with the dream catcher…thing." He twirled his hand around lamely, "Look, can you tell me where he is?"

"You know what," Jazz stepped back, looking him up and down, "I don't believe you."

* * *

Poor Dan, he's so confused. But we love him anyway, despite his evilness. So, what's Jazz gonna do about Phantom?

Please leave me a review and thanks for reading!


	8. Kid of the Future

I got the title idea from the song "Kids of the Future" from the "Meet the Robinsons" movie.

* * *

**Eight: Kid of the Future **

* * *

"Don't believe-what!?" Phantom started to protest but Jazz, having been fighting ghosts off beside her younger brother for nearly three years, had adequately learned how to defend herself. The Jack-O-Nine-Tails lashed out and pinned Phantom's arms to his sides, initiating a rather painful shock on the specter that made him cry out and tumble to the floor. Jazz stood over him, the handle clenched tightly in her fingers.

"Now, **ghost**," She spat the word, sounding more like her mother than ever, "You tell me where my brother is…and what you've done with him."

* * *

"You know I'm not helping out to help you, right?" Dan's red eyes narrowed as he glared at Danny who glared right back at him.

"Duh!" The boy snapped, having long abandoned the cloak and was now questing around for his shirt; the search had taken him from Clockwork's screen room and into a small, storage-like place with rusty and dented old grandfather clocks leaning against the walls, smothered in dust, "Since when have you ever done anything for anyone else!?" He sneezed as a cloud of dust rose into the air, "Ugh, let's get out of here!" He shoved past his future self and into the twisting hall, looking around for another door.

"Good." Dan floated after him, relishing in the fact that Danny had to expand so much energy walking while he, Dan, could glide along effortlessly, "Now that we have an understanding, I just-."

"I wanna go home, Dan."

"Hm?" Danny had stopped walking and was standing in the middle of the hall, goosebumps rising on his arms as he remained stationary in the chill of the Ghost Zone.

"I want…I never asked for my powers, Dan, you know that."

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I wanna be normal. I just…I just want to go home and forget about all of this."

"What about Clockwork?"

"Hmph, Clockwork just spewed all that DNA crap to get me to be the hero again." Danny's shoulders hunched and he rubbed his hands up and down his bare arms, "He always thought there was something great planned for me. What a load of bull." The Fenton boy straightened up, "Dan, I'm going to ask a favor of you, even though I hate your stinking guts."

"The feeling's mutual, Danny, trust me."

"I want you to take me home. Get me out of this stupid Ghost Zone; I never want to see this place again; and take me home."

"That doesn't sound like a favor that sounds like a demand."

"Fine!" Danny shouted, his back still to his future version, "Don't help me! I don't care! I'll **walk** back home through the Ghost Zone if I have too! Let Technus and Skulker and Ember and Youngblood and all of them come at me! Let them blast me apart! I! Don't **CARE**!"

The last word echoed through the hall ominously. The silence was extremely heavy.

"Fine…" Dan sighed, "Clockwork ordered me to talk to you but he didn't tell me what I couldn't do." He grinned, showing his fangs, "It'll get you out of my hair. I'll just tell old Clocky you went looking for your ghost half."

"Ordered?" Danny smirked, raising an eyebrow as he turned to face Dan, "Now that's something I never though I'd hear from you! How come Clockwork's giving you orders?"

"That Time Master jerk has got some nasty powers hidden up his sleeve," Dan unconsciously ran a finger down the mark on his eye, scowling, "As soon as he let me out of the thermos he slapped this…this **spell** on me. I don't know, if I don't do what he tells me…well, let's just say it hurts. A lot."

"Why **did** he let you out?"

"Beats me. I guess he thought I could help you." Dan shrugged, looking unconcerned.

"Help with what? Me?"

"Dunno, guess I never will with Clockwork." Dan's expression softened a little; at least his angry look vanished and his eyes lost their murderous glare, "But…but about what happened…" Dan floated across the floor, closer to Danny who took an automatic step back, "I just-."

"Danny?" Clockwork's voice rang from the stairwell, "Dan? Where did you two get to?"

"Now…!" Danny hissed, urging his future self with wild hands gestures, "Quit gawking and let's get out of here!"

Dan didn't respond, he simply wrapped his cloak around Danny, nearly smothering him, and pulled him into a side room made completely of mirrors. Danny shivered at the absolute cold that swirled around him from his future self and the cloak and then gritted his teeth to keep silent and still as he heard the swish of another cloak outside the door.

"Danny?" The Time Ghost seemed to be opening every door and peering in to see if the two he sought were within, "Danny? Dan Phantom?" The door to the mirror room opened and Clockwork's red eyes looked right through them for a moment or two before he closed the door and made his way down the hall. Only when Dan was sure that Clockwork was out of ear shot did he drop his invisibility. Danny pushed away from his with a scowl the quickly turned into shock.

"Whoa…! Dan…check this **out**!" Dan Phantom rolled his eyes and turned in the direction of his younger self only to freeze as he caught sight of himself in one of the mirrored walls.

His reflection did not match his real world self. Not in the least. The person in the mirror was at least a head or two shorter though he dressed the same as Dan. Dan blinked and those haunting, familiar, innocent neon green eyes blinked right back, one almost hidden behind a memorable shock of pure, white, hair. Even the jagged lightning-mock marking over his left eye was visible in the reflection-that-was-not-his, though it stood out more vividly on his mirrored self's pale skin.

Dan Phantom was looking at a younger version of himself. Very much like the Danny he'd just agreed to take home. Boy, did that bring back memories…

…_Sam and Tucker both laughing from the across the table at the Nasty Burger…fighting off countless ghosts…telling Vlad how much he hated him and would never be his son…the horror and sorrow and pain…the feeling of everything you'd fought so hard for spinning out of control…the glow of the super heated Nasty Burger sauce…the desperate cry that ripped from his throat…the blinding explosion…the only one left to turn to…Vlad taking him and telling him everything would be alright…the world fading out as the sleep drug took effect…a terrible, horrendous pain…enraged and filled with misunderstanding and pain…the dark hatred overpowering him…the petrified look on his human half's face as it cowered against the wall…the feeling of thick, warm blood on his hands…the feeling of tyrannical rage…the utter defeat at the hands of someone who cared more than he could ever understand…left alone with his thoughts for almost three years…and then…_

Dan shook himself from his memories with a veritable snarl of rage, lashing out and smashing the mirror before him. Sharp shards of glass exploded around him like glittering snow. The last thing he'd seen reflected there was the same hate-filled grimace on his younger self, twisting it so that all the innocence vanished.

He hated his past.

He hated the world.

He.

Hated.

Danny Fenton.

And here he was helping him.

Irony, no?

Danny, meanwhile, was absolutely fascinated with the older version of himself he saw in the mirror. It was not at all like Dan Phantom. This future self in the glass had a smoother build, their shoulders weren't as broad, they were slimmer, and their face was narrower, with a black goatee. But through all this they still look athletic enough to run a half a mile and not be out of breath. The reflected, older Danny was also missing his shirt, wearing only a pair of blue jeans and sneakers. And he looked wide awake and ready for anything; the complete opposite of how Danny really felt. Danny's eyes narrowed and the brilliant blue eyes in the mirror narrowed too. Danny reached up and flicked his black hair from his face. His older self in the mirror did too.

"Hmph, no ghost—No!" Danny cut off his own statement with a cry of dismay as his older self clenched his fists and took a fighting stance, a flash of cold, white light traveling over his body and changing him into his ghost form. Danny looked down at himself quickly to make sure he wasn't going ghost as well and then set his horrified gaze back on the mirror. What he then saw paralyzed him with fear.

His future self in the glass was starring at his hands in dismayed sorrow; his fingers slowly melted into a green mist and then his arms and then his legs started going as well. His fervent neon eyes met Danny's with a pleading look as the rest of him faded from existence. Then there was only those beseeching orbs and then…they too vanished.

Danny gave a cry of a alarm and stumbled backwards into Dan just as his future self smashed the mirror in front of him. A thousands shards of sparkling glass erupted past him, clinking to the floor like tiny bells tolling the death song of the older Danny Phantom who'd vanished and died.

"Danny?" Dan shook his shoulder, "Danny! Come on, snap out of it! It's just some of Clockwork's dumb toys! Let's get out of here!" He dropped his voice to a low growl though they were still audible to Danny's human ears, "Lucky for me, Clocky hasn't thought to use his 'leash' on me."

Getting next to no response, he picked the boy up, threw him unceremoniously over his shoulder, turned invisible once more, and vanished out the door.

* * *

"I didn't do anything to him! I'm trying to find him! Jazz, please, you have to believe me! Jazz!...What're you…no…no, come on, don't…! Please, I'm begging you, really, it's me! Phantom! Danny's ghost half! Jazz, you don't want to do that! Jazz! JAAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZ!"

* * *

I'm not going to get murdered in my sleep because of that cliffhanger, am I? that would suck.

So anyway, thanks for reading, please leave me a review, and byes!

"It's probably like Monopoly; everyone's going to quit half way through." –T.J.


	9. Almost Spilling the Beans

Funny story; I was trying to download a DP episode onto my MP3 player (legally!) and instead of going into the video file the stupid thing went into the music file. So now, I have the whole audio to Urban Jungle and no pictures to go along with it. Weird experience, I gotta tell you, but also quite enjoyable. I realized that without pictures to distract me I pay a lot more attention to the background music. Yeah, so, there's my story for the day and I'm sorry for the late update!

* * *

**Nine: Almost Spilling the Beans**

* * *

Phantom struggled against the anti-ghost net Jazz had trapped him in. He'd always hated these. He pushed fruitlessly against the tight, glowing bindings for what seemed like the hundredth time and gave a resigned growl of defeat as he gained nothing from it. He **had** to find Fenton! He didn't know why but he felt an urgent need to find his human half.

"So, **ghost**, are you going to talk now?" While he'd been struggling, Jazz had come down the stairs and into the lab where she'd dragged him, "What've you done with my little brother?"

"Jazz! I told you! The Observers tore us apart; Fenton and Phantom! I'm **half** of your brother!"

"So prove it!" She jabbed a small ectogun at him, "Where's Danny?! I'll call my parents and they'd **love** the chance to tear you apart molecule by molecule!"

"Jazz, I—!"

There was a resounding clatter of chairs falling over from up in the kitchen and a stream of curse words. Jazz looked at Phantom, set the ectogun on a table, and ran up the stairs. The kitchen was a mess; the table had been turned on its side, the chairs were knocked across the floor, and in the middle of it all were two figures. One had a mess of black hair, dirty blue jeans, no shoes, bandages around his middle, and was trapped under a chair. The other, face down on the floor, had white hair that was spiked rather eccentrically and yanked back into a ponytail by a spiked silver band. They wore a hooded navy blue jacket over what seemed to be a black and white shirt and black pants and heavy black combat boots.

"Danny?" Jazz tipped the chair off the first figure, "Danny!" She hoisted her brother up so he was in a sitting position, "Danny, talk to me! What happened!?"

"Ahhhhg…" Jazz, still holding her unconscious brother, looked around, "Stupid screen…I didn't think I'd fly through that darn thing so fast…ouch…!"

The other person was a young man, probably about twenty-six or twenty-seven, and he was currently pushing himself up with a hand to his head. It was then that he noticed Jazz and grinned. His skin was unnaturally pale, his eyes were a deep, flaming red, and un upside-down V-like mark was etched over his left eye.

"Well, well, well," The voice was cold and unforgiving, hinted with sneers, "If it isn't Jasmine," Just visible under his jacket was a white shirt with black going down the middle. In the center of his chest, in the black, was the hauntingly familiar DP symbol, "It's been, what, almost three years now?"

"Who…what?" The elder Fenton sibling's brow furrowed; things kept getting weirder and weirder, "Do I…know you?"

"Nnnhhhgg…Jazz?" Danny groaned and pushed himself off his sister, "What happened?"

"I—."

CRASH!

Jazz jumped to her feet, froze, looked at the two on the floor, and grabbed Danny to drag him down into the lab too.

"Jazz! What're you—!?"

"He's gone!" Jazz's eyes traveled over the chaos; a table was over turned, there were several scorch marks on the walls and floors, and the net that had held Phantom was in pieces.

"Who's gone?" The white haired man had followed the downstairs, tugging at his goatee as he went.

"The ghost who said he was Danny…or half of Danny…or whatever!" Jazz stomped a foot angrily on the floor.

"Ow…Jazz…you're hurting me!" Danny tugged his wrist out of Jazz's grip, rubbing it where his sister's fingernails had left indents in the skin.

"Jazz!" The white haired man grabbed the girl's shoulders and shook them, looking frantic, "You're sure!? This…this ghost! Did he look like Danny in his ghost form!?"

"Uh…yeah…"

"Found you!" A swirling portal suddenly spun its way into existence and Clockwork swept through, looking extremely ticked, "What're you two doing here!?"

"Clockwork!?"

"Jasmine?"

"Clocky…!"

"Danny!"

"Jazz!"

"Dan!?"

"What's going on!?" Jazz brought the impending argument to an abrupt stop, "And **who**," She jabbed a finger at the white haired man, "Is that!?"

"Aw, that hurts my feelings, Jazz." The man sneered mockingly, "It's me…Dan Phantom."

* * *

When Jazz had rushed up the stairs to find out what had happened to cause the crash in the kitchen, Phantom had gone into action. In the restraints of the anti-ghost net, he'd managed to rock himself into the nearby table where Jazz had conveniently left the ecto-gun. The first impact wasn't enough to knock the weapon off the table but the fourth one was and the gun skittered off the table and clattered to the floor. Phantom froze, listening to make sure that Jazz hadn't heard the noise and had come back down to investigate. When no one came he stretched his leg out as far as it could go while in the net and started scooching across the tile floor on his rear, trying to get to the gun. Highly undignified but under the current circumstances, Phantom could care less.

After a few frustrating moments, he reached the ecto-gun and, unable to think of any other way to activate it, fell on it.

Nothing happened.

Scowling and muttering, Phantom shifted his arm so that his fingers quested through the net and over the gun, attempting to find the trigger. It didn't take that long and he tightened his white-gloved finger around it, sending a blast into the net. The effect was almost instantaneous. The net exploded, Phantom was sent flying into the table that he'd knocked the ecto-gun off of, and the gun, receiving a rather nasty rebound detonated, sending charged ectoplasm ricocheting off the walls and floor, scorching it badly.

Terrified by the mess he'd made and still frantic to find his human half, Phantom floated into the air and bolted through the wall, heading out into the streets on a cool Sunday morning to try and find Danny Fenton, completely unawares that his goal was in the kitchen of the house he'd just abandoned.

* * *

If Danny had been in the room during the entire conversation between a very distraught, confused, and slightly angry Jazz, a teasing, mocking, blank-faced Dan Phantom, and an extremely irritated Clockwork, he probably would have laughed.

But Danny had lost his heart again.

Drained of all emotion since his argument with his future self and the shock of those strange mirrors, Danny had hardly registered when Dan had flown them both through one of Clockwork's screens and into the Fenton home kitchen with the ease of a stone thrown by a five year old. And he'd been resigned to go into his room when the whole "Phantom got away" bit started to play out.

Danny didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear any of the bull that Clockwork was spewing. He didn't believe, for a second, that his ghost powers were once again a separate being and that his life was in danger of ending because the Observers had torn his DNA. To him, it was a chock full of lies speal that the Ghost of Time was making up to get Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom one person, and a "hero", once again.

The Fenton boy was currently walking down the street having easily snuck out his window wearing a clean white and red T-shirt. He wandered down the sidewalk, heading in the vague direction of Tucker's house and hoping that Sam wasn't going to be calling or going anywhere the techno-geeks place of residence. He really didn't want her to seem him like this or to hear another one of her rants about how he'd been "special."

"Danny! What're you doing!?" Someone grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. Glancing up, he realized he'd almost walked right into on-going traffic. That would have meant no more Danny.

"Hey, you okay?" The boy looked around, his hands deep in his pockets, and met Valerie's worried gaze, "You look terrible."

_Yeah, well, if everything you thought you knew about yourself was a lie and you let thousands of kids die and all you saw was their blood on your hands and when you finally do get rid of what it was the ruined you, you have some moron telling you that you have to take it back or you'll die and you just want them all to shut up and leave you alone and you can't take it anymore…! Well, geez, you'd look terrible too!_ He thought bitterly but muttered instead,

"I've just…had a bad week."

"Yeah, me too." Valerie had never been an exact friend but she was enough of one that Danny felt it was safe to talk to her. After all, she didn't know he had been a halfa.

"After…after all of that…of that stuff that happened at the warehouse, you know…" The traffic light turned red, stopping the cars, and the crosswalk sign changed to walking person. He, Valerie, and the others waiting on the sidewalk moved to the other side of the street, "I…I hated myself, Val, I blamed myself for being the only one left and being unable to save everyone…"

"Danny, no one blames you and you shouldn't blame yourself." Valerie steered him into the shopping district, "Things…happen all the time and we always want to blame ourselves." Her expression darkened slightly, "I thought the mess the Ghost Boy caused at Axiom labs was my fault for a while; thought I'd some how caused it."

Danny flinched slightly; more memories of when he'd been Danny Phantom and messed up. At least then nobody had died.

"This is…different Valerie." He murmured, starring at the sidewalk as they moved past numerous shops and people, "This time I, well, I really…it really is my fault. I killed them—no, I **let** them die!"

"Danny, you coul—!"

"I could have!" He shouted back at her and several people paused to stare but when he didn't say anything else they went back to their business, "I could have, Val, I could have…" His voice was lower now, his blue eyes shadowed by his bangs, "Back then I…darn it all, I was such a moron to think I could do anything." He drew a hand out of one pocket and knuckled himself in the forehead, squeezing his eyes shut like he could push back something that was haunting him.

"Danny…what's wrong." Valerie put an arm around his shoulders, hesitantly, and he didn't shove it off. They kept moving, "Come on, you can talk to me. I'll buy us something to eat."

"No." Danny balked, nearly tripping over himself, "Val, I really should have told you and I really should have and I regret it…! I regret so many things…!" He turned away and furiously rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes as a laughing couple moved around them, "But this is…if I'd just told you maybe you…maybe this…" He choked, unable to find the words.

Valerie made to move towards him but she blinked…and he was gone.

* * *

"But this is…if I'd just told you maybe you…maybe this…" Danny choked, swallowed, and sought the words out.

"_Time out."_

He felt the Time Medallion bounce off his chest as he wheeled around in a fit of rage, all former guilt, sorrow, and pain forgotten. Dan tapped a boot on the sidewalk in front of Valerie, arms crossed, an eyebrow raised in a cocky sort of manner. Clenched in one hand was what appeared to be Clockwork's staff, spikes protruding from it below the top and at the base.

"You thought you could run away again, huh?" Dan Phantom sneered, the V-mark on his eye twisting, "Clocky sent me after you since I've stolen his staff and used it before he felt that, instead of wasting **his** time," He chuckled darkly and Danny scowled at him, "He sent me out after while he cleared things up with our dear sister."

"She's not your sister, Dan!" The Fenton boy screamed and then he turned and ran.

Dan, unfortunately, was far faster. He grabbed Danny around the middle and hoisted him off the ground. Danny kicked and screamed but it wasn't like there was anyone around to hear him. Dan's claws dug into his already wounded stomach and the boy screamed even louder. One of his flailing fists caught Dan in the jaw.

"Oh, that is **it**!" Dan Phantom focused an electric burst of ecto-energy into his hand that was around Danny's middle and let it go in a flare of sparks. The shock jolted the boy around a bit and then he drooped, unconscious, in his future self's grasp. Dan snarled, turned invisible, and restarted time, flying off back towards the Fenton household.

* * *

Ooooh, so close! Danny almost told Valerie his secret! Sorry for the late update, I've been…doing nothing. Lamest excuse ever, I know.

Anyway, I hope this semi-filler crap will keep you busy for the moment. Hopefully, things will start getting **really** interesting with the next chapter. (They weren't interesting enough already?)

Oh, and as for Dan's outfit change when Clocky let him out of the thermos…um…let's just say he's not **quite** as evil as he was before. And when he shows up in the Fenton home, well, that's just something I did for fun. Clockwork's going to be more, how should I put it, human looking in a bit too.

As always, thanks for reading, don't forget to review, and byes!


	10. School Bells

Clockwork's sweater, heh, my younger brother got one just like it from the Renaissance Festival and I thought it'd be funny for Clocky to be wearing something like that!

* * *

**Ten: School Bells**

* * *

"I have to what because of what!?"

"Keep your voice down, Dan," Clockwork made shushing motions with his hands, scowling, "Danny's sleeping."

Dan made a feral growling noise and flopped back onto the couch in the living room, glaring daggers at the Time Master. Jazz was upstairs attending to Danny and had left Dan Phantom and Clockwork to their own devices. Clockwork drummed his pale fingers on the arm of the chair he was perched in, impatient with Dan's pouting, and the huffed as a few strands of white-blonde hair slipped from the slicked back style he had it in and fell into his redish eyes. Instead of his usual cloak and tunic, the Ghost of Time was wearing a black, hooded sweater with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows; the words "I Am The Bad Guy" printed on it in white; a pair of slightly faded black jeans, black sneakers, and a black choker with a tiny clock in the middle on his neck. Jangling over his wrists were three bracelets with thin silver chains and glowing blue stones.

"Why do I have to go…?" Dan grumbled finally, looking up at a picture of the Fenton family hanging on the wall, "This is dumb."

"Quit whining, I've had it up to here with hearing you complain!" Clockwork snapped, waving a hand over his head to emphasize the point and slicking his hair back at the same time, "Tomorrow, you're going to act like Danny and go to school like Danny and do everything Danny would do so that no one's the wiser! Am I understood?"

Dan grumbled something that sounded insulting.

"I said am I understood!?"

Dan cringed, the black mark over his left eyes pulsing with an eerie blue light, and nodded, spitting an insolent sounding "yes" through his gritted fangs. The light faded. The older version of Danny sat back on the couch, his face blank but his eyes blazing anger; there was nothing he could do to defy Clockwork. At the moment.

* * *

Early next morning found Jazz sitting at the kitchen table, glaring across it at her little brother and her little brother's future self who looked like her little brother. Dan had taken on Danny's appearance and, under Clockwork's orders, was going to **be** Danny for the day; that meant going to school, hanging out with Sam and Tucker, and doing whatever else it was that Danny usually did on a school day; because the Fenton boy himself was too injured to be moving about and to have him stay how would look suspicious.

Naturally, the only person in the least bit content with the situation was Clockwork and that was because he was going to be staying at home with Danny in the hopes that Phantom might somehow decide to come back.

"This is the dumbest thing I've ever had to do. Ever." Dan grumbled, looking the perfect imitation of the grumpy Danny beside him, "I feel so puny."

"At least you get to go somewhere," Danny growled back, "I'm stuck here with ol' Clock n' Gears…!"

Jazz rolled her eyes at both of them, stood, put her dishes in the sink, grabbed her bag, shoved Danny's bag into Dan's arms, and headed towards the door. When Dan didn't follow she sighed and turned around. Danny himself slunk out of the room to go pout in front of the TV. With the TV on.

"Come on, up!" Jazz ordered, tugging at Dan's arm, "You're going to be late!"

Dan hissed something under his breath and promptly sank lower in his chair with his arms wrapped tightly around Danny's bag.

"Daniel James Fenton—!" The older Fenton sibling stopped when she realized what she'd said. Dan's blue eyes were wide as he blinked at her. Jazz swallowed, let go of Dan's arm, and stepped back a little bit, "Uh…I mean…" She turned away, shouldering her bag, "We should…get to school."

Dan stood up slowly and trailed after Jazz, the bag still clutched to his chest. Then, as they clambered into her car, he smiled at her.

"What?" Her tone was sharp, almost scared, and she looked away from him when his cool grin widened.

"No one's called me 'Danny' in almost thirteen years, let alone Fenton." He looked out the window as the street rolled by, "I killed too many people for them to even consider me…" He let the words trail off and Jazz shivered to hear them said in her brother's voice.

They pulled into the school parking lot.

"Danny!" Dan found himself tackled by Sam and Tucker before he'd taken two steps away from the car.

"Gah…!" Crushed in their hugs and unable to escape, Dan glanced at Jazz but she was already walking away. For a split second, Dan's cover slipped and his blue eyes flashed red but then he managed to compose himself once again and wiggle out of Danny's friends' grips.

"Geez guys," He gasped, massaging his side, half-grinning, and trying to scrounge up old memories he'd repressed for a long time, "Do you have to strangle me?"

"Dude, we were worried! What did Clockwork want?" Tucker asked, scooping up Danny's bag from the ground where Dan had dropped it when he'd been smothered and handing it back, "And what was with that note on the bottom of the paper, huh? Who wrote that one?"

"Uh…" Dan swung the bag over his shoulder to buy time (why did he have a **purple** bag in high school!?), "Well he…he just…wanted to lecture me." He let a scowl slip onto his face, "Tell me how I had to be Phantom again and stuff like that."

"Danny, we were worried about you," Sam slipped her hand into his as they headed towards the school, "Clockwork's note told us to stay out of the Ghost Zone and then at the bottom…"

"It…" Dan searched for an excuse for the note that **he** had written at the bottom of Clockwork's original note. Then, inwardly, he grinned darkly. Time to mess with Danny, "It was my future self; Clockwork let him out of the thermos."

"WHAT!?" Tucker and Sam screeched to a halt and Dan turned around to look at them, "IS HE NUTS!?"

"Apparently, he thinks I—Dan can help get Phantom back. My ghost powers aren't gone they're just…separated from me." Dan forced a bitter tone into his voice as they resumed their march towards the front doors, "And that dumb a—!"

"Fen-turd!" Dan suddenly found himself hoisted into the air, his feet dangling off the ground, "Where ya' been? I owe you a couple rounds!"

_Aw spite…_ Dan thought miserably before he slammed into the concrete, was heaved up again, dragged rather unceremoniously into the school, and stuffed into his own locker, _Aw freaking, living spite…_

* * *

"Tucker have you noticed that Danny's been acting a little…weird?" Sam whispered as they watched Danny firing rubber bands from across the room, "I mean, he's been sort of jumpy and angry all day and he doesn't want to talk about anything that has to do with ghosts or his powers."

"Maybe he's having withdraw symptoms." Tucker replied softly, trying to get past a sonicWALL on the internet with is PDA.

"W-withdraw symptoms!?" Sam stuttered, "From what!?"

"Hm, I dunno, not kissing you. OW!" Tucker rubbed the back on his head and straightened his beret as he did so, "Alright, so, I deserved that one…"

A rubber band twanged off the screen of his PDA and smacked him square between the eyes, knocking his glasses askew in the process. The two of them looked up to see Danny howling with mirth from across the crowded classroom, one hand around his middle and the other slapping the top of his desk.

"Oh yeah, he's on something," Sam growled, "And he's going to share it with me later."

True to her word, Sam cornered Danny during lunch when the boy slipped out of the cafeteria (probably to head to the Men's room) and pinned him to the wall. It wasn't like he could go anywhere.

"Alright buster, talk! What's gotten into you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny looked genuinely startled by the question but Sam wasn't buying the "I'm-an-innocent-bystander-with-huge-puppy-eyes-how-can-you-not-love-me" act today.

"Danny, you've been acting strange all day! You're nervous, you get angry quicker than usual, and I know what's been going on has been hard on you; it's been hard on all of us; but these mood swings are really starting to—!"

She was cut off by Danny's lips pressed against hers.

It had been a long time since they'd kissed.

The last time they had it had been right before the horrible incident with Zodiac.

Unconsciously, she brought her hands up and wove her fingers into his hair and felt his hands slide over his waist and up her back to her shoulders where they gently twisted amongst the black strands that brushed the base of her neck.

Then he pulled away, slowly, blinking like he was in a daze, and traced a finger across her jaw line, pressing it lightly to her lips. She stared at him. This was so un-Danny-like that it just…it just…

"You're so beautiful when you're ticked at me." He muttered and kissed her again.

* * *

"Sam? Sam…! Earth to Sam! Heeellllooooo!" Tucker waved his hand in his friends' face as she slowly sat down next to him at the cafeteria table, staring blankly ahead without really seeing anything, "Hey, Sam, you still in there?"

"Wh-what?" The Goth blinked and looked at the techie as though just noticing that he was there, "Oh, sorry Tucker…"

"So, what's wrong with Danny?"

"Eh…nothing."

Tucker's eyes narrowed and he peered at Sam over the tops of his glasses, "You…you two kissed, didn't you?"

Sam's face turned pink,

"SHUT UP FOLEY!"

* * *

In the bathroom, Dan leaned forward on the sink, frowning at his reflection in the mirror. He stared at those familiar blue eyes so darkened by confusion and finally reached and ran a hand over his face with a heavy sigh.

"Why did I do that?"

* * *

"YOU DID **WHAT**!?" Danny's scream could have broken the sound barrier and his eyes were so wide they were nearly bulging out of his head. Dan, now back at the Fenton home and out of his "Danny guise", laughed weakly at the stares he was getting.

"Look, Danny, she had me cornered, what was I supposed to do? Tell her everything?"

"Better than you…than you…than you **kissing** her!"

"Seems to me she rather liked it."

"Shut your face! **You** of all people kissing **my** Sam…I should tear you to pieces!"

"I think she **wanted** a kiss, Danny."

"You don't know anything! You don't have feelings!" Danny was on his feet, face white with rage, red blotches on his cheeks and his blue eyes blazing, "YOU'RE NOT EVEN HUMAN!!"

There was a silence.

"Danny, I don't think—." Clockwork began but Dan was already a step ahead of him and on his feet with his fists clenched and red eyes glowing.

"Not human, huh!? Not human, huh!? Not human!? I don't have to take this from a sniveling brat like you!"

"You were a sniveling brat too! You just killed it!"

"I'm not listening, la la la la!" Dan stuck his fingers in his pointed ears, closed his eyes, and started making loud noises to block out Danny.

"He's acting like a four year old…" Jazz grumbled and then watched Danny stomp his feet furiously on the carpet, "They both are…"

Clockwork only rubbed his temples in exasperation.

"You stupid, pathetic, older self! You went to Vlad! To **Vlad**!"

"I can't hear you! La la la! I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves! Everybody's nerves! Everybody's nerves! I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves and this is how it goes! Bum, bum, bum! I know a—!"

"Oh, **real** mature! **You're** the older version!? I don't think so! I'm going through a whole lot more than you! Hey! Listen to me you dumb ghost! I'm yelling at you! HEY!"

"—nerves! Everybody's nerves! I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves and this is how it goes! Bum, bum, bum! I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves! Everybody's nerves! Every—!"

"Don't make me come over there and show you just how much I hate your stinking, rotten, moldy, guts! I'll blast you into—!" Whatever Danny was going to blast Dan into was cut off by a series of hacking coughs as the Fenton boy fell to his knees on the floor, arms wrapped around his still bandaged middle, wheezing for breath. Dan immediately stopped his singing and took his fingers out of his ears, glancing at Clockwork. Jazz dropped to her brother's side.

Danny's face was contorted in agony, his eyes squeezed shut, his whole frame shaking as he coughed and fought to breath, sweat beading his forehead. Jazz slapped his back a couple of times and then made for the phone but Clockwork grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "Danny's DNA is splitting; as you can imagine, it's pretty painful. There is nothing you can do."

Danny rolled off his knees and onto his side, convulsing, his mouth open in a silent scream. He dug his fingers into the carpet and kicked his bare feet out, stretching across the floor like he was pinned to a torture device before curling back into a ball and burying his face in his limbs. After a few moments, he became completely still.

"Danny?" Jazz whispered, slack in Clockwork's grip. Dan was crouched on floor, peering at Danny like he was some interesting road kill.

The Fenton boy moaned softly, gasped, and rolled over onto his back, his black hair shadowing his eyes as he lay panting on the carpet. Dan inched closer to him and leaned forward, his pale, clawed fingers trembling as he poked his younger self in the shoulder. Danny yelped and shot upright, starring wide-eyed at his future version.

"Oh, Danny…!" Jazz sobbed and flung herself out of the Ghost of Time's grasp, throwing her arms around her little brother, "Danny…! Please, I know you…I know you don't want to be Danny Phantom anymore but I…" She pushed him back, hands on his shoulders and tears running down her face, "Look what you're doing to yourself!"

Danny blinked slowly and looked from his sister to Clockwork to the blank-faced Dan and then back to his sister. Shakily, he reached up, pushed his bangs aside, dropped his hand and lifted his shirt up. Just visible over the top of the bandages around his middle his usually smooth, pale skin looked as though it had been burned and sliced. Black and red, torn flesh, swollen welts, and ugly, twisted bunches of knotted tissue were spread up the left side of Danny's chest.

"It's begun…" Clockwork said in a low voice, "Danny Fenton, your DNA is tearing itself apart because it's unstable. To fix this problem you need to join with Phantom again. It is the only way." Danny's blue eyes were bright with horror and fear, "Now you see the truth. Hopefully, it will not be too late."

Dan sat back cross-legged on the floor with his arms crossed over his chest. From the dull glint in his eyes, Clockwork could tell he was thinking hard about something.

"Danny—."

"Shut up, I don't want to hear it." The teen struggled to his feet, wavered, and then stumbled his way over to the stairs, "I don't want to hear how I have to be Phantom again." He tripped up the steps, "And I won't do it, you can't make me."

Jazz hurried after her brother, leaving the two humanoid-looking ghosts in the living room.

"Well, he's right, you know." Dan's cocky sneer brought Clockwork's attention to the floor, "You can't **make** Fenton and Phantom become one again. They have to **want** to."

"True," Clockwork replied, aiming a kick at the ghost only to sweep it away at the last second and drop into a chair, "But if Danny doesn't come to his senses soon, there won't **be** a Fenton or a Phantom to put back together again."

* * *

I'm sorry that ended on such a depressing note. But it's finally started; Danny's DNA is tearing apart and so his body is deteriorating right before his eyes. That must be living spitfire painful.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review! Byes!


	11. Dark Corners

I'm making bets with myself right now; how much do you want to bet that the next couple of chapters are going to filler? See, this is what happens when you don't plan things out and just jump right in. Compulsive moron. Ooooh, I'm calling myself names…insanity, come and take me!

* * *

**Eleven: Dark Corners**

* * *

Phantom was curled up on the grass in the park, panting, clutching his side, his green eyes dim with pain and terror. Beneath his black jumpsuit, stretching across his ghostly pale, glowing skin like a virus, was a horrible knotted mass of flesh. He'd been struggling against the pain, his breath had frozen in his throat, and he'd convulsed on the ground for what felt like forever. The agony had been horrible.

"Hey…it's the ghost boy…!" Said a childish voice and Phantom's gaze slid from his white gloved hand to the little girl standing in front of him, "Are you alright, ghost boy?"

Phantom tried to respond, he really did, but all that came out was a wheezing gasp. Grunting with pain, he tried to push himself off the ground but the wracking pains on his body had weakened his ectoplasmic structure. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Do you need some help? Should Mommy call 911? Mommy said when someone can't move you call 911. Do you need 911, ghost boy?"

"No…" Phantom managed to gasp out, "No…hospitals…call Fenton…" He sank to his stomach on the grass, neon green eyes flickering a pleading look at the child.

"What's a Fenton?" The little girl cocked her head, "I'll get Mommy!" And she skipped off, back through the trees.

"C-curses…!" The young ghost started to drag himself across the grass, his limbs shaking with each laborious movement, "Have to…have to get…home…Danny…"

"See, Mommy, see! It's the ghost boy! The ghost boy!" Phantom looked up again, breathing heavily, to see the little girl had returned with the woman the ghost assumed was her mother, "He's hurt, Mommy, can we help him!"

The woman stared at Phantom and he stared right back, wishing with all his being he could go invisible; but that power, it seemed, he could no longer wield. His ice powers and his ghostly wail had vanished as well.

"What do you need, ghost boy?" The woman asked, still keeping her distance.

"Food, really…" Phantom murmured, "And…and…" His strength failed him, his eyes rolled back, and he tumbled into unconsciousness.

* * *

It was the warmth that woke him up. He turned over, blinked groggily, and ran a hand over his face, taking deep breaths to get his bearings. He had no idea where he was. Phantom sat up, rubbing his eyes, and plucked at the light blue sheet covering him.

The ghost boy swung his legs over the edge of the bed, stretching his arms towards the ceiling as he did so. The room was dimly lit and that was only because of the sunlight trying to get through the thick curtains on the window. The floor was a soft brown carpet, the walls were painted a light cream color, and there were a couple of pieces of furniture scattered over the area; a short dresser, a desk and chair, and a wastepaper basket.

He tried the door but found it locked. From the outside. Phantom frowned and turned intangible, slipping through the wood and peering out into the hallway. It was empty. Well, that was sort of odd. You'd think if someone was keeping a ghost "locked" in room they'd want someone standing guard or something.

His stomach growling made his thoughts turn to food. He may have been all ghost but that didn't change the fact that he'd been part of a human and so retained the needs of a human; eating, sleeping, etc. He headed down the hall, looking for the kitchen. It wasn't hard to find. Sitting on a polished wooden table was a bowl of grapes, apples, bananas, and oranges. Phantom grabbed a handful of grapes and started popping them into his mouth as he wandered into the living room.

He froze.

The fruit fell from his fingers to roll across the floor.

The little girl who had found him, her mother, and the man who was probably her father were all laid out on the couch with blank expressions on their faces. Hovering over them were two Observers and at least twelve guards.

And they were all looking right at him.

Phantom's mind went into overdrive.

He screamed bloody murder and launched himself into the air, sliding through the second floor and out the roof in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, the Observer's guards were right on his heels. Zigg-zagging through the sky, Phantom headed towards Fenton Works in the hopes that Jazz or Danny would be there to help him get these goons off his ectoplasmic wisp of a tail.

* * *

Dan Phantom was leaning against the window frame of the living room, starring absently up at the blue sky, when something caught his attention.

"Hey, Clockwork…"

"Mmm?" The Ghost of Time didn't even glance up from the book he was reading (_A Wrinkle in Time XD_).

"You know how we've been waiting for Phantom to show up…?" Dan took a couple of steps away from the window.

"Yes."

"Well, he's here!"

As if on cue, Phantom crashed through the window, sending glass everywhere, and lay sprawled on the carpet, panting heavily. Dan leapt backwards with a curse and Clockwork was on his feet in seconds, staff in hand. But in those seconds, Phantom was already on the move again. Seeing two very humanoid versions of ghosts he knew and knowing the Observers and their guards would be on him soon, he'd turned intangible and shot through the ceiling…and right into Jazz's bedroom.

After Danny had fallen asleep in his own room, the older Fenton sibling had decided to get some homework done to take her mind off of the situation. However, when Phantom came barreling through her floor that decision became a mute point.

Jazz screamed.

Phantom screamed.

Dan could be heard from downstairs screaming curse words no one even knew existed as several of the guards tried to force their way into the Fenton home.

Clockwork suddenly appeared in Jazz's room, his white-blonde hair ruffled and dangling in his eyes, his staff clenched so tightly in his hand his already pale knuckles were even whiter. A few trails of ectoplasm dripped off the end.

"Phantom!" The Ghost of Time whirled on the ghost boy and scowled when the drawstrings of his sweater smacked him in the face, "Get to Danny's room! Now! No time to explain! We have to get you two out of here! Dan can hold them off for now but it's only a matter of time before he's overpowered!" Phantom nodded dumbly and shot off. Clockwork turned attention to Jazz, "Help him if you can."

Jazz starred at him.

"Do you want your brother to die!?" Clockwork shouted, losing his temper with the entire, nerve-racking situation. Jazz sped out of her room and the Ghost of Time closed his eyes, drumming his fingers agitatedly on his staff. The whole situation was getting out of his control and he knew it.

Muttering darkly, he ran out of the room and down the hall just as the door to Danny's room was blasted off its hinges and he came flying out to slam into his older sister.

* * *

Dan dropped down on all fours and swept his legs around, knocking a guard down and an instant later fired a hail of ectoplasm onto a group of them, sending them flying into the wall where they remained, dazed or unconscious.

One of them, struggling on the floor because of the ectoplasm leaking out of the hole in his side, looped his arms around Dan's ankle and jerked hard. Dan, not expecting the move, was sent crashing to the floor with a grunt of pain. Another guard swooped over him and slammed the butt of his staff into the Phantom's middle, sending an electric shock coursing through Dan and winding the ghost badly.

Wheezing for breath and getting angrier and angrier by the second, Dan reached up, grabbed the staff and, ignoring the electricity coursing through him, twisted the staff out the guard's grasp and spun to his feet.

"Ha!" He chortled weakly, spinning the staff to keep the guards away from him, giving him time to get his breath back, "Who's got the butt end of the stick now!?"

"You were supposed to be annihilated." Stated one Observer, pointing ominously at him, "Seize the future Danny and then proceed to capture Phantom and Clockwork as well. He has not been doing his duties."

"Well he's doin' 'em better 'in you!" Dan hissed and with a wild cry, launched himself back into the fray.

* * *

Phantom had darted into Danny's room to find the boy on his feet, tugging wildly at the door handle which Jazz seemed to have locked. He was so busy trying to open the door while fighting back his still tender injury that he didn't even notice Phantom hovering beside him.

"Danny, we've gotta get out of here! The Observers are coming and—!"

"Get away from me!" Danny screamed, falling back, striking out at Phantom as he did so, "Just…just stay away!"

"Danny listen to me! There's no time to argue! Let's go!"

"No! Stay back!" Fenton dodged to the other side of his bed and as Phantom turned to go around, Danny dodged to the other end, blue eyes wide, a sheen of sweat coating his face, "Go away! You're not real! I don't need you!"

The two began a game of cat-and-mouse, Phantom chasing Fenton around and around the bed, Fenton screaming all the while and Phantom calling him out. The ghost half was getting continually more and more frustrated as this situation wore on. Who knew how long it would be until the Observers and their guards broke past Dan and got into Danny's room to recapture Phantom.

"Stop RUNNING!" The ghost half shouted and a wave of emerald energy knocked the door off its hinges and sent Fenton flying right into his sister who was just outside his room. Phantom used a couple of words that would normally get him in a great deal of trouble and made to move forward only to be grabbed around the middle by Clockwork and hoisted into the air. The Time Ghost was stronger than he looked.

"Dan!" Clockwork yelled to thin air and a few moments later, the future version of Phantom appeared next to the very dazed Danny and Jazz, "Grab those two and let's get out of here!"

"Will do!" Dan gasped, appearing to be slightly winded, and he threw Danny over his shoulder and held Jazz around the middle, "Where're we headed?"

"The only place we're sure to be out of danger." Clockwork muttered as Phantom started to struggle in his grasp, "Vlad's."

Dan swore but followed after the Time Ghost, both of them dodging through the roof and zipping through the sky in the direction of the Mayor's mansion. Phantom was still kicking and screaming in Clockwork's grasp when they dropped into a large, empty study.

"LET GO! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN! AHHHHHHHGGGG!"

"What is all that blasted racket!?" Came a voice and Vlad himself suddenly stormed into the room, throwing the door open with a bang. He stopped when he saw humanoid Clockwork with a screaming Phantom in his grip and humanoid Dan with both the Fenton siblings unconscious in his arms.

"Plasmius." Clockwork said shortly.

"Ah, the Master of All Time." Vlad sneered, though it wasn't quite as threatening as it usually was, "Jasmine and Daniel," He eyed them a little questioningly, "And…" He raised an eyebrow at Dan and Phantom, "Two Daniels?"

"PUT ME DOWN! CLOCKWORK! LET ME GO! THEY'RE AFTER ME!"

"Three." Hissed Dan and Clockwork waved a hand to silence him.

"Plasmius, we need a place to hide from the Observers." Vlad's eyes narrowed at the words.

"That was a demand, Clockwork, not a request."

"PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Danny's in danger." The Time Ghost said in a low voice that still managed to carry over Phantom's screaming, "If the Observers get to him he could die."

Vlad put two and two together in an instant,

"Blackmail." He growled but turned on his heel and motioned for them to follow him, "And can you please silence that little brat!?"

Dan took the liberty of cracking Phantom a good one on the back of the neck, effectively knocking the ghost boy out cold. Clockwork rolled his eyes, muttering dark nothings under his breath, and followed Vlad, Dan smirking and trailing after him.

* * *

I tried to make this chapter longer to make up for my huge absence as of late. Hm, I just realized something. Even though summer is just around the corner and I'm going to be getting more chapters completed faster I won't have as much access to the internet as I do at school. And when I do…well, I'll probably be watching DP the whole time.

Hugs and cookies, guys! I'll try to update faster now! Have an awesomely super sensationalistic day!

And don't forget to review! Byes!


	12. The Master's Gala and Dan's Detention

It's so freaking HOT! I'm roasting! No, I'm MELTING! Blech! I hate the cold but I hate being super warm too! I like spring time and fall; moderate weather. (glares at the sky) No more thunder storms that make it ninety degrees out! The only cool place is the basement! Grrrrr!

* * *

**Twelve: The Masters Gala and Dan's Detention**

* * *

It took a while for everyone to get settled in. Jazz had a room to herself, Fenton and Phantom were in the same room in two different beds while Dan stood watch over them both (under Clockwork's orders), and Clockwork had a room to himself. Then, of course, the situation had to be explained to their host; the one and only Vlad Masters.

"If I understand you correctly, and I'm sure I do," Vlad was sitting in a high backed arm chair beside a roaring fire in one of his studies while Clockwork was perched on a love seat across from him, looking very tired. Then again, he'd just spent the better part of two hours explaining everything to the older halfa, "You have to keep those two; Fenton and Phantom; away from the Observers long enough to figure out how to get them back together again. And you're still running out of time because his DNA's breaking apart?" The millionaire gave an obvious scoff of laughter, "Couldn't you just stop time, Clockwork, and figure everything out?"

"I'm afraid not, Plasmius," The Time Ghost reached down and kicked off his boots, stuffing his socks inside them and wiggling his toes (he had to say, he enjoyed the feeling immensely), "I have no idea if stopping time for any long period of, erm, time wouldn't actually hurt their DNA."

"You're not making sense." Vlad's way of saying he didn't get it as he wrinkled his nose at the ghost's antics.

"Fenton and Phantom were torn apart by ghost powers and science, something the Observers have been dabbling in since they were spawned from the Ghost Zone," Clockwork stretched and started to spin his staff in his fingers in an restless kind of way, "My own ghost powers far exceed those of the Observers but their science…" He pushed his hair back into place agitatedly, "I have trouble understanding. If I were to stop time, what's to guarantee it wouldn't speed up the process or just kill them out right?"

Vlad's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. Clockwork's red gaze flicked towards him, he could almost hear the cogs and gears turning in the man's mind, piecing things together and trying to solve the dilemma. Not for Danny, no, never for Danny. Vlad was, as ever, doing it for his own gain of happiness. Or, at the very least, an attempt at a gain of happiness.

"And this…Dan Phantom? He's Daniel's evil future self? From ten years in the future?" This was one thing Vlad seemed to have had trouble grasping; the alternate timeline in which the Fenton family was completely annihilated along with Sam, Tucker, and Mr. Lancer, and the result of Vlad's endeavor to be a godfather had resulted in the evil that had nearly destroyed the world.

"Yes," Clockwork said tiredly, rubbing his temples, "I let him out because he's proven himself to be an asset. And he's under my control, you don't have to worry."

"I'm not worried." Vlad sat back in his chair with an aggravated expression, "But what are you going to do with him once this is over?"

"That…" Clockwork said, standing up, "Does not concern you." And he walked out of the room, carrying his staff in one hand and his boots and socks in the other. Vlad scowled after him.

"He thinks he can do whatever he wants because he controls time." The millionaire growled, standing as well and walking over to the fire to stare into its flickering depths, "However…this matter…" He leaned against the mantle, thinking hard, "If Daniel were to die then my precious Maddie would…"

With a snarl, Vlad turned away from the fire and went to go sulk by the window where the light was slowly fading from the sky. A very faint, very tiny star was trying to flicker its way into existence in the middle of a spiral of dark blue and light blue. Vlad frowned.

_Irony._ He thought bitterly, glaring at the star as though the whole situation was that burning ball of gas's fault, _Why do I feel like I've gotten myself mixed up in something that's over my head?_

* * *

The following morning was met with at least six different arguments.

Dan was arguing with Clockwork about the whole "going to school as Danny" bit, Danny was having three different shouting matches at the same time (one with Clockwork, one with Vlad, and one with Phantom), Jazz was quarrelling with Vlad as well, and Phantom was yelling at Fenton.

To put it bluntly, the house was in chaos.

It was Clockwork who settled most of the disputes. Ordering Dan to do what he was told, while not something the Ghost of Time enjoyed, was what solved that issue, Jazz had to take Dan to Casper High so she left with him, and soon, after about ten minutes, the shouting matches between Clockwork, Fenton, Vlad, and Phantom edged away into a "who can scream the loudest" match between the human and ghost half of the boy Danny.

"Can't you shut them up!?" Vlad growled, accidentally bending a silver spoon in half in his anger.

"It's better to let them burn themselves out." Clockwork muttered as he peered over the top of his cup of orange juice at the two boys shouting at each other in another room. He and the older halfa had left the main living room where the screaming match was taking place and had moved into a small kitchen to treat themselves. Unfortunately for Vlad, Clockwork had insisted that he be able to keep an eye on them so the millionaire had been forced to turn on one of his many security televisions scattered throughout his manor and endure the noise.

"It's irritating." Vlad stirred his coffee with an unbent spoon, his eyes flashing red as he watched the two boys yelling at each other from across the room, "Why are they even arguing?"

"Because they're scared." Clockwork replied, now lifting open the lid to a box of doughnuts to look inside. Since he was a ghost straight from the Ghost Zone, he didn't really **need** food but he still enjoyed it when he could get it, "Both Fenton and Phantom are terrified of the damages the separation has taken on their bodies. Normally, this would have made them want to become one person again but Danny's been through too much. He's scared of himself. The situation that resulted from Yulcifer reminded him so much of his alternate future that he's sure that he will become Dan Phantom, no matter what I tell him. Phantom, being the ghost half, doesn't have these fears. He's not angry, he doesn't want to destroy anything, he doesn't have the hatred against the world like Dan di—does. He just wants to stay alive, if you get my meaning."

Vlad started grumbling and turned his back on the screen, sitting down and snatching the box of doughnuts away from Clockwork before the Ghost of Time could grab one. He got a fearsome scowl in return.

* * *

"Danny, dude, you look like crap!"

"Thanks Tuck."

"As much as I hate to say this, I have to agree with Tucker." Sam stepped in front of Dan as he attempted to get to Danny's locker, "Are you sick, you have called us or talked to us and you've been acting…" Her face turned a light shade of pink, "Kind of weird."

"I'm—." Dan cut himself off, bit his lip in thought, and then sighed, trying to make himself look pathetic, "The Observers attacked me last night."

"What!?" Sam hushed Tucker high-pitched yelp and motioned for Dan to continue.

"Phantom was there and he…well, it doesn't matter what he wanted. The Observers wanted him and Clockwork said that couldn't happen! So he and Dan knocked me, Phantom, and Jazz out and dragged us to Vlad's manor."

"You're living with Vlad!?" Sam hissed, "Has Clockwork lost his mind!? This is the perfect opportunity for Plasmius to take you out of the picture!"

"Mm," Dan shrugged in an unconcerned sort of way and was about to open Danny's locker when a hand descended on his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Hey Fen-turd! Did you like your locker yesterday!? 'Cause I'll shove you in the toilet today!" Dash jeered and several of the other jocks did the same.

"Leggo Dash…!" Dan snapped in a half-hearted sort of way. In all honesty, he was tired. He hadn't gotten a decent night's rest in a while and his powers were waning. He wouldn't be able to keep up the "Danny disguise" too much longer without his cover being blown.

"Talkin' back to me, Fenton!?" The bully grabbed the front of the red and white T-shirt Dan was wearing and shook him so fiercely that Dan swore he felt his brain rattle around in his skull, "That means extras!" And he pulled his fist back to punch Dan in the face.

Dan snapped. He'd had it. Clockwork giving him orders, getting chased down by the Observers, having to stay with Vlad, Fenton and Phantom's constant bickering and the look of hate that flickered in their eyes whenever they saw him, having to act like Danny, having to hide…it had built up so much over the past couple of days and now…

"EAT ECTOPLASM YOU SON OF A GUYS IN WHITE!"

"THE CAPTAIN'S DOG! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING MR. FENTON!?"

Dan was ripped away from Dash, who he had thrown back, pinned to the ground, and was in the act of punching, and hoisted into an upright position by a very angry looking Mr. Lancer. Dash lay whimpering on the floor, his large hands over his face, "I fhink you brhoke mhy nose…!"

"Serves you right." Dan snarled and then regretted the words instantly.

"DETENTION!" Lancer screamed, "TWO WEEKS! EVERY NIGHT AFTER SCHOOL! AND I'M CALLING YOUR PARENTS!"

He let Dan go and started to walk away but Dan caught up to him, "Mr. Lancer, my parents are out of town and my house has just been broken into." Lancer's eyes narrowed as he looked down at who he assumed was Danny Fenton, "Jazz and I are staying with Mayor Masters, our legal guardian until our parents return or the house is cleaned up." There were several murmurs and giggles of disbelief from behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, Dan could see Sam and Tucker looking panicked, "If you don't believe me, **sir**, you can check the emergency numbers on the papers."

With that, Dan turned back to Sam and Tucker and started walking towards his fist class.

* * *

Back in the Masters' home, Fenton and Phantom had gone from shouting matches to angry silences during which, if they happened to be in the same room, they would shoot glares at one another. This was a very uncomfortable sort of experience especially when you're trying to sit down with a nice book but you have unfortunately chosen a spot in the room that is directly between the two glaring boys. Vlad kept getting shivers up his spine.

_Where is that elusive Clockwork!?_ He thought sullenly and jumped slightly when the phone started ringing, "Saved!" He left in the room quickly and swept onto the second floor landing to pick up the phone, "Hello?"

"_Mayor Masters?"_

"Yes." Vlad did his best to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"_This is Mr. Lancer calling from Casper High—."_ Vlad couldn't stop the groan though, _"—about Daniel Fenton. He claims his parents are away, his house was broken into, and that he's staying with you. It is true that when I called his home no one answered, however I am not inclined to believe he is staying with you!"_

"Yes, well, he is." The halfa peered over the stair banister to see if Clockwork was somewhere on the first floor, "Jack and Maddie were college friends of mine and I have legal guardian custody over Daniel and his sister until their parents return from their trip." He frowned suddenly, "Why does this matter? What did Daniel do?"

_Ah, he—THE GAME OF SUNKEN PLACES, MR. FENTON!!"_ Vlad held the phone away from his ear, _"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!? SIT BACK DOWN RIGHT NOW!"_ There was the noise of several clattering chairs, an angry shout, and then silence for a moment before Mr. Lancer's voice came back over the phone, sounding slightly winded, _"He got into a fist fight, Mayor Masters, with a fellow student and gave them a broken nose. He has detention every night for two weeks."_

"One week."

"_Excuse me, sir?"_

"One week's detention, every day." Vlad didn't know why he was doing it but the fact was that he was. Perhaps it something to do with the idea that he didn't think he could handle Fenton and Phantom by himself for that long.

"_Mayor Masters, I don't think you quite understand just how much—."_

Time to change tactics.

"Don't tell me how much or how little I understand about getting into trouble and punishments, Lancer!" Vlad seethed, "I am Mayor and handling an insubordinate teenager is fairly simple!" _Lies, all lies._

"_I…I understand that, sir, but I am the Vice Principle at this school and—."_

"Daniel has things he must attend to!" Vlad snapped irritably, "If you have any other complaints, I'll be happy to hear them now!" There was a disconcerting silence on the other end.

"_Alright, Mayor Masters, everyday, for the next seven school days."_ Lancer's voice grumbled.

"Have a pleasant weekend." Vlad said in a false, cheerful tone and hung up, "How annoying." And he stomped his way back into the study to continue his reading under the glares of Fenton and Phantom. Only Phantom wasn't there, "Where's Phantom?"

Danny was looking pointedly at a bookcase with a smug and rather haughty look on his face, his arms crossed across his chest and his nose in the air. If Vlad had been in the mood, he probably would have made cracks about how he'd rubbed off on the boy.

"I dunno." Danny responded in a patronizing way, sounding for all the world like he'd won the world championship for something. Vlad made a hissing noise and grabbed Danny's chin, forcing the boy to look at him.

"Where." He snarled out as Danny's blue eyes widened, "Is. Phantom."

"Gone." Danny jerked away, his expression slightly shocked, "He left. Gone." And he folded his arms over his chest again.

Vlad glared daggers, feeling the cold, black light sweeping over his body as he tapped into his ghost powers. Danny cringed slightly and covered his head with his arms and Vlad, who had been about to strike out at him, suddenly realized how utterly defenseless this young teenager really was. He stepped back.

"Daniel…Daniel, look at me." No response, "Daniel…please."

Danny peered through his folded arms and the older halfa saw a flash of fearful, brilliant blue starring at him.

"Daniel, I…" The words fought to stay inside him, "I respected you as a fellow halfa and as a rival." Danny blinked at him, "But you are acting more like a selfish little brat that I ever thought was possible from you." Before the boy could spew out a suitable comeback, Vlad pinned Danny to his seat with ropes of glowing, pink ectoplasm, "You stay there! I need to go find Clockwork and Phantom!"

* * *

"Oh no you don't, Mr. Fenton, you're coming to my office and we're calling Mayor Masters to see if that tall tale of yours is true!" Lancer grabbed Danny's upper arm and dragged him away from his two friends. Danny muttered something that was probably a profanity under his breath but didn't fight back; obviously he realized the futility of his situation.

When they reached his office, Lancer shut the door and sat the teenager down in one of the plastic chairs in front of his desk, stepping over to the phone and dialing in the unnamed emergency number on the card. There were two rings and then a click as the phone picked up.

"_Hello?"_

"Mayor Masters?"

Dan stifled a groan and ran a hand through Danny's black hair so that it fell characteristically into his face. Great, now Vlad would tell Clockwork and Clockwork would get on his case about being a "good little Danny." Dan scowled to himself.

"This is Mr. Lancer calling from Casper High about Daniel Fenton." Lancer had his back to him and Dan started pondering whether or not he could slip out the door without the man noticing, "He claims his parents are away, his house was broken into, and that he's staying with you. It is true that when I called his home no one answered, however I am not inclined to believe he is staying with you!"

Dan shifted in his seat and there was a creak of plastic. He froze but Lancer didn't turn to look at him. Dan inched his foot forward, paused again, and leapt for the door. Unfortunately, the second he looked away was the second Lancer looked at him.

"Ah, he—THE GAME OF SUNKEN PLACES, MR. FENOTN!!" Lancer screamed, dropping the phone and making a dive for Dan and practically clotheslining him, "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!? SIT BACK DOWN RIGHT NOW!" He dragged Dan by the scruff of the neck towards the chairs but Dan struggled with an angry yell and kicked, sending the chairs everywhere, "Sit back down in that chair," Lancer said in a low, dangerous voice the Dan never thought the man could muster, "Or I'll expel you. Do you understand that, Mr. Fenton…!?"

Dan kept his face blank, tugged himself out of Lancer's grip, and plopped sullenly back into the only upright chair in the room. Lancer went back to the phone.

"He got into a fist fight, Mayor Masters, with a fellow student and gave them a broken nose. He has detention every night for two weeks."

Dan scowled again, glaring at the floor. There was a lot things that he'd done which he now regretted but maybe killing Lancer wasn't that bad. No, no, he wasn't the one who got to decide when it was right for people to die. Still, the whole fiasco had not been his fault. The time paradox created by him traveling into the past (present?) had shorted out any chance of Danny becoming Dan Phantom. A bit of a disappointment but nothing that was going to entirely ruin Dan's day. He didn't hate Danny, he was just jealous. Jealous that Danny had the love of friends and family whereas Dan had…Dan had what?

Nothing, that's what. Dan had nothing left after the event that had taken the lives of those he'd loved and he hated the world for it. It was the world's fault, all of it, that he'd been left a cold, emotionless, bloodthirsty ghost. And, so help him, as soon as Clockwork sent him back to his own time, he'd be dishing out that revenge ten-fold.

"Alright, Mayor Masters,everyday, for the next seven school days." He managed to wipe off the sadistic grin that had spread across his face as Lancer turned around, hanging up the phone as he did so, "Well, Mr. Fenton, you're lucky. You have one week of detention starting tomorrow. Am I understood?"

"Yessir…" Dan grumbled, "Can I go now? I'm already late for class."

"Get going then!"

Dan jumped out of the office and nearly collided with Sam and Tucker who were waiting outside, "Um ,hello, class started ten minutes ago! You guys are going to get into trouble!"

"I don't think we are, Danny." Sam said with a very mischievous grin on her face, "After all, Mr. Lancer's the one teaching our class."

Dan glanced over his shoulder through the frosted window on the door and observed Mr. Lancer going through a large stack of homework he seemed to be grading. It was swaying precariously on his desk. Dan smiled.

"So, who wants to run down to the Nasty Burger before first hour ends?"

* * *

"…it is my sincere hope that you have enjoyed your butt-kicking experience!" –Danny, Urban Jungle

Nice of Dan to land himself in detention, the moron, and now Phantom's gone and disappeared and don't you feel just a tad bit sorry for Vlad for having to deal with all of this? Hm, I dunno.

Well, hopefully this chapter was enough to keep you busy. I don't know when I'll get around to my next update. My obsession with Jak and Daxter is starting to grow on me again and I'm worried that people will start going OOC…oh dear…

Thanks for reading, please review, and have a great day! Byes!


	13. Learning the Hard Way

Hello, guess what, I'm not dead! I'm still here! Physically, at least, I don't know about mentally. Sanity is a waste of time. Anyway, I'm sorry for not updating in…(attempts to count how long its been since my last update and runs out of fingers) well, it's been a while. And I'm sorry for that. I just needed a good, healthy dose of Danny Phantom. And Skittles.

Lucky for me I got both very recently so have no fear! (Well, maybe fear the inevitable OOC-ness) And I'd also like to apologize for the crap that's been going on in the last couple of chapters.

* * *

**Thirteen: Learning the Hard Way**

* * *

Vlad located Phantom in a locked, walk in closet in which hung series of broken or abandoned anti-ghost weaponry. The ghost boy shrieked when he saw Plasmius phase through the wall and immediately brought up his fists, feeding glowing ectoplasm into them. Vlad rolled his glowing red eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Phantom didn't buy it. He charged Plasmius with a feral battle cry and swung his fist at the older man's face. Plasmius easily caught the ghost half's wrist, twisted his arm behind his back, and grabbed a fistful of shocking white hair. Phantom swore loudly.

"Now really, Phantom, is that sort of language necessary? My nerves are already raw and I really don't want you to make me do something I'll regret." Vlad turned intangible, causing Phantom to do so as well, and dropped through the floor, "We really can't have you running off."

_Why don't I just hand-cuff you and Daniel together? No, of course, they'd try strangling each other. What am I thinking?_ All of these thoughts were in a rather sarcastic tone of voice.

* * *

"You got **detention**!?" Jazz almost crashed into the car in front of her as she started pulling out of the school parking lot, "Are you **stupid**!?"

"Are you?" Dan hissed back, Danny's blue eyes glinting red for a few seconds, "**Don't** antagonize me, Jasmine, I'm not really in the mood." He sunk down as far as the seatbelt would let him, "I…I think I almost killed Lancer again…"

It was the horrid regret that rang in his voice that made Jazz glance at him. But his features were blank, "What do you mean by "again?""

"The first time, in my timeline," His voice was monotone and he starred unblinkingly out the windshield, "Clockwork's the only one who knows what really happened. It's…different than what happened here, whatever Danny or those blasted Observers say."

"What happened?" Jazz asked softly, keeping her eyes on the road as she headed for the Mayor's mansion.

"Well…a ghost had attacked Mr. Lancer in the park on his way home. This was just before the CAT so he was carrying the answers with him and I was out on patrol…it was such a minor little, stupid ectoplasmic goo-ball I didn't think twice about it. Gave me more trouble than it was worth, though." He sighed, "It exploded when I shot a charged ecto-beam at it and I went flying through Lancer's briefcase. With all the ectoplasmic residue all over me…the CAT answers…" He trailed off, looking a little upset but more angry than anything else, "I cheated on the test. Lancer found out and called me, you, and our parents to the Nasty Burger for a talk. I'd gotten Sam and Tucker to come along too even though they were both angry at me for cheating." He shuddered to a halt, clamming up, his eyes completely red now and the black hair swirling upwards in a wind that Jazz did not feel.

"Dan…what happened. You can tell me. I swear I won't tell anyone else."

"Some stupid ghost punk had thought it would be funny to stir up some trouble right then. I freaked when I saw it coming; it was big, and ugly, and…it had fire powers." He sagged lower in his seat, "I changed right in front of everybody and started fighting it. It was…intense. I…I got…set on fire and…fell right into that stupid, stupid batch of Nasty Burger sauce…!" He clenched his fists tightly, black claws sprouting from his finger tips and cutting deep into his skin. Glowing green blood slid down his wrists, "I…I thought for the longest time that **I** was the one who killed them. But now I know the truth." His form blurred and stretched and Dan Phantom was sitting beside her, looking ready to kill, "It was the world. It's full of idiots! It's their fault everyone died! It's they're fault that ghost attacked me! It's they're fault I'm like this!"

Silence. Dan continued seething all the way to the mansion. Jazz remained silent.

* * *

The first thing Clockwork noticed when he entered the room was Danny tied to a chair by pulsing, pink ectoplasmic ropes. He looked very upset. And very angry.

"I'm not a sideshow freak, Clockwork! Mind getting me out of these things?" The boy snarled as the Time Ghost walked over for a closer look, his staff propped on one shoulder like the victory pose of a character in a video game. Danny struggled against the ectoplasmic and then gasped in pain.

"Danny?" Clockwork's brow furrowed. Had Plasmius set the bindings so that if one struggled they would tighten?

The boy gritted his teeth and threw his head back against the back of the chair, his breathing getting heavier. Beads of sweat formed on his face and tickled down his neck. Suddenly, he yanked himself forward, as much as he could bound to a chair, and screamed like someone was stabbing him with a hot poker.

Clockwork realized that Danny's DNA was breaking down once again.

* * *

As Plasmius regained tangibility on the second floor of his manor, Phantom suddenly convulsed in his grip. The ghost writhed around, gasping for air like someone was strangling him, and kicked out, catching Plasmius in the gut. The older man dropped him to the floor where Phantom curled into a ball, groaning in agony.

A bloodcurdling screech of torture suddenly rang from the first floor and made Plasmius shiver as he reverted into his human form. The same scream was echoed by Phantom who was now laying flat out on his back, digging his fingers into the carpet and screaming as loud as he possibly could, arching away from the floor. Vlad took a step backwards.

Phantom's ectoplasm structure started to blur. It shook, fading around the edges, and little green wisps of ectoplasmic smoke floated away into the air, dissipating, never to be seen again.

Vlad looked around in horror for help but found nothing but an empty hallway.

Phantom was, by all reasonable means, dying.

* * *

As Jazz and Dan stepped out of the car and began their walk towards the mansion, Dan suddenly froze, turning his head towards one of the second floor windows. Jazz stopped beside him and looked up, confused.

"It's…Fenton and Phantom…" Dan hissed, "They're…screaming…"

Jazz ran for the mansion. Dan crossed his arms over his broad chest and sat down on the gravel at the side of the car, facing towards the mansion. He knew that Clockwork would call him momentarily, he knew that Jazz would be in a panic, he knew that Vlad would be angry beyond belief, and he knew that Fenton and Phantom would be screaming like there was no tomorrow. It was chaos.

But it wasn't a chaos that Dan enjoyed. He'd just spilled his guts to Jazz, told her everything, something he'd never said to anyone. The time paradox created by him going (coming?) to the past (present?) had stopped Danny from becoming evil even though Dan had tried his hardest to keep the future the same.

"Things are they way they were meant to be…!" Dan snarled, mocking Clockwork, "If things were the way they were _supposed_ to be, I wouldn't be here! And Danny would still be Phantom! And everyone would just live happily the freaking ever after!"

These last words were shouted at the top of his voice and a couple handfuls of pebbles went scattering across the drive, driven there by the trace of ghostly wail that had entered Dan's voice in his anger.

"Happily ever after…" The ghost growled, drawing his knees up to his chin, his red eyes narrowing, "What a bunch of bull."

* * *

Jazz burst into the room just as Danny let loose another earsplitting scream, thrashing in his bonds. Clockwork's fingers were so tight around his staff that he looked as though he was going to snap it in half.

Vlad suddenly dropped through the ceiling, carrying a screeching, thrashing Phantom in his arms. His usually calm, turquoise eyes were rimmed in white and flooded with terror. He looked from Clockwork to Jazz and then to Danny. The pink, ectoplasmic bindings holding the boy to the chair vanished in a wisp of smoke and Danny fell to the floor with a cry of pain, holding his right arm close to his chest, tears running down his face.

Phantom was in no better condition. The pain was too much for his ectoplasm to handle and it was shaking him to the core. Plasmius looked over at Clockwork but the Ghost of Time had his own red eyes closed and wasn't looking at anyone.

"DANNY!" Jazz, sobbing, threw herself on her little brother and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her chest as he continued to scream and cry. The skin on his left arm bubbled and cracked, splitting in some places so that little trickles of blood leaked down his arm. Blisters and burn-like marks erupted all the way down from his shoulder to his fingertips. With a final, shuddering gasp, both Fenton and Phantom lay still, breathing deeply and slightly unevenly but obviously out cold from the torture.

Vlad could only stare, opened mouthed, at the unconscious ghost in his arms.

"Dan." Clockwork whispered, his voice barely audible over Jazz's sobbing, and the future Danny appeared in a swirl of cold wind, face expressionless, "Take Phantom and Fenton up to their room." The Time Ghost opened his eyes ever so slightly, his gaze trained solely on the carpet, "And take Jazz as well. She can bandage them both up."

Dan snorted but did as he was told, taking Phantom from Plasmius and, after a bit of tugging, managed to get Fenton away from Jazz. The girl followed Dan from the room, wiping the still coming tears from her eyes.

Clockwork allowed his red eyes to slide across the carpet and train upon Vlad's face. The expression he saw there was, in all honesty, not what he expected. The millionaire was deathly pale, fear, doubt, pain, and sadness boiling in his eyes, conflicting, his arms hanging loosely at his sides.

"Not what you thought?" The Time Ghost said in a low voice and Vlad shook his head wordlessly, starring fixedly at the door, "It's hard to watch. It'll be even harder near the end. Phantom will die before Danny does, you know that, you saw for yourself his ectoplasmic structure breaking. I can't do this alone, Vlad. I may be the Master of Time but I'm not a genius. I can only see the future…not solve it."

Vlad suddenly collapsed onto a nearby couch, burying his face into his hands, shoulders shaking.

"I was doing this for Maddie. I was doing this to keep Maddie happy! I wanted her to see that I _could_ do something right!" Vlad's voice was muffled through his fingers but Clockwork remained silent, listening, "But now, I see this and…" The man swore, "I don't know what to think! I want to help Daniel more than ever." Misty blue-green eyes came into view as Vlad leaned back against the back of the couch, "I don't know where my head is Clockwork, I really don't."

"I do."

"Of course you do, you know everything!"

"Don't snap at me, Plasmius. I know what you want. You want to help Danny, you want to keep Maddie happy. I can tell you how." Vlad looked up expectantly as Clockwork leaned in closer, "Let them be, Vlad 'Plasmius' Masters. Let Danny, Maddie, Jack, and Jazz live in peace. Don't be a rival, be friend. Help Danny instead of hindering him, aid Jack and Maddie in their experiments instead of stealing them. You can still love Maddie, there's nothing wrong with that, but do not try to steal her." Clockwork stepped back, "That's my only advice Vlad. But for the moment, we need to get Fenton and Phantom back together again." And he swept out the door without another word.

Vlad watched him go, feeling at odds with himself. Too many things were happening too fast. He forced himself to focus on the business at hand.

Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom could not longer be two separate entities.

* * *

Okay, I know that was a short chapter and I'm sorry for that too but I'm building stuff up for the next one. While I was writing this, there was a part of me that wanted to make Vlad start crying but that would have been so out of character I think I'd puke. I opted instead for him being completely overwhelmed by the whole situation. Hey, he may be a millionaire halfa but he's still part human and everyone gets pressured when there's a lot of stuff going on around them.

So, I will see you in the next chapter but until then…toodles!


	14. I'm Not Okay ,I Promise,

I'm running out of ideas for chapter titles that make sense and go with the chapter

I'm running out of ideas for chapter titles that make sense and go with the chapter. My mind isn't working right because I'm hungry but I think this one should be cool. The chapter title is from the 'My Chemical Romance' song. (Yeah, didn't think EmptyHeart listened to MCR did you? XD)

* * *

**Fourteen: I'm Not Okay (I Promise)**

* * *

After a weary day of school and pretending to be Danny, Dan then had to suffer through an hour of detention with Mr. Lancer glaring at him over the top of his newspaper ever five minutes. Dan sat motionless the whole time, glaring right back. He knew it wasn't very Danny-like but at the moment, he could care less. He just wanted to get out.

"Alright, Mr. Fenton, you can go." Lancer murmured, "But I expect you here on Monday."

"Whatever…!" Dan grabbed the purple backpack and swung it over his shoulder and ran out the door, down the hall, and out onto the steps in front of the school where he stopped short, "Sam? Tucker? Wh-what're you doing here?"

"Waiting for you, what else?" Sam stood up from where she'd been sitting on the steps, brushing herself off, "Jazz invited us over."

"Jazz did _what_!?" Dan wheeled about and glared at Danny's sister who turned away with a smug look on her face. Dan jumped down the steps, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her a little ways away.

"What were you _thinking_!?" He hissed angrily, bristling, barely containing his disguise.

"Danny needs to see his friends! He needs a moral booster! He's been around you, and Clockwork, Vlad, and me, and Phantom! He needs his friends!" Jazz whispered back, scowling at him.

"No! They can't know! Clockwork told you that and he also told you that—!"

"Clockwork doesn't know everything!" Jazz snapped and then got herself back under control, "None of us can convince Danny to merge with his ghost half again but maybe if Sam and Tucker saw what was going on they could do something!"

"I'm not wasting energy arguing with you!" Dan growled, eyes flashing red for a brief second, "Why don't we go ask Clockwork, huh!?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Hmph." Dan turned away and walked back to where Sam and Tucker were standing, looking rather confused at frustrated expression on the two Fenton siblings' faces. The car ride to Vlad's mansion was decidedly silent, the air between Jazz and Dan in the front seat unbelievably thick with tension.

* * *

"Idiot!" Sam and Tucker watched as Danny furiously yanked on the door handle, "They locked the door!" Danny slammed a fist on the door, "Hey! Clockwork! Open the door! I know you can hear me! Open up!"

There was a clatter of bolts sliding back and locks being undone and then the door opened with an exasperated Clockwork on its threshold, "Why couldn't you have wal—." The humanoid-ghost stopped when he saw Sam and Tucker standing on the steps next to Jazz. His red eyes narrowed.

"Sorry 'bout that, Sam and Tucker are visiting." Danny pushed past Clockwork and waved the Goth and the techie inside, "It was Jazz's idea. She thinks _I_ need their company." He sneered and Clockwork sighed heavily.

"What was that about, dude?" Tucker and Sam followed Danny into the large dining room where the boy tossed his backpack onto the table top where it was quickly joined by Sam's and Tucker's.

"Aw, he's just being stupid." Danny replied, running his fingers through his black hair to get it out of his face, "He wants me to go find Phantom and I don't want to." He sat down in a vacant chair and, as Sam and Tucker followed suit, he looked up at them with a vague sort of interest, "So, what do you wanna do?"

"_To un-explain the unforgivable, drain all the blood and give the kids a show. By streetlight this dark night, a séance down below. There're things I have done, you never should ever know!" _ The song was muffled, probably from a few floors up, but it was obviously turned up loud enough to be heard on the first floor. All three teens turned their heads towards their ceiling. Jazz walked through the dining room with a look of disdain on her face and exited to go upstairs. Clockwork sat down in a chair across the room, rolling his eyes at the music.

"That's…My Chemical Romance." Sam muttered, raising an eyebrow and then looking back at Danny who looked just as confused as she and Tucker, "This Is How I Disappear. That's not Vlad's is it?"

"Beats me." Danny muttered with a shrug and returned his attention to the ceiling.

"_And without you is how I disappear, and live my life alone forever now. And without you is how I disappear, and live my life alone forever now."_

"Okay, I do not like this sort of music." Tucker shivered, "Can we maybe go somewhere I _can't_ hear this?" But he got shushed by both Sam and Danny.

"_Who walks among the famous living dead, drowns all the boys and girls inside your bed. And if you could talk to me, tell me if it's so, that all the good girls go to heaven. Well, heaven knows that without you is how I disappear and li—."_

"Who wants to play Ratchet: Deadlocked on Vlad's giant projector?" Danny asked, very loudly, over the top of the song, "I bet I can still whip you, Tucker!"

"It's not Tucker you'll have to worry about!" Sam interjected, a cocky smile on her face, "It's me!"

"_Can you hear me cry out to you? Words I thought I'd choke on figure out."_

The three teens stood up and Clockwork stood as well. Danny scowled at him, "Do you _have_ to follow us? We're just playing a video game. We don't need you to babysit."

"_I'm really not so with you anymore. I'm just a ghost, so I can't hurt you anymore. So I can't hurt you anymore."_

"Ahhhhg! Will somebody shut that off!?" Danny yelled at the ceiling and almost as though someone had heard him, there was a resounding crash from upstairs and the music stopped abruptly, "Well, it's about time something went right."

But everything seemed far from right.

Seconds later, there were several angry shouts, loud thumps and crashes, and the sounds of something ricocheting off the walls. Sam and Tucker all glanced at Danny and saw that he had turned his attention to Clockwork. Clockwork shook his head.

"Danny, what's going on up there?" Sam asked but didn't get a response because there was a piercing scream, a random shout of rage, a series of loud thumps that got closer, and then someone tumbled through the door to the stairwell to lay sprawled on the floor.

It was Phantom.

He lay on the tile facedown, his right arm bent a most uncomfortable looking angle. Sam and Tucker gasped and looked at Danny but he was looking towards the stairwell. And he suddenly looked several inches taller…and his hair seemed a little longer…and…

"Danny! That's your ghost half! What're you—!?" Tucker choked off, eyes widening as _another_ Danny Fenton came barreling down the stairs with one of the Fenton's modified (courtesy of Vlad) ecto-guns pointed at Phantom who was getting to his feet. Danny Fenton's right arm was smothered in bandages and in a sling but he looked absolutely furious.

"T-two!?" Sam breathed in shock, "But…how!?"

"GET UP!" The Danny whose arm was in a sling screamed, pointing the gun at Phantom who had rolled onto his knees, fear evident in his glowing green eyes, "GET UP SO I CAN TEAR YOU APART MOLECULE BY FREAKING MOLECULE!"

"Danny, stop it!" The Danny next to Sam and Tucker snarled in horribly harsh voice that made their spines tingle.

"YOU SHUT UP! I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU!" The second Danny shouted, still with the ecto-gun pointed at the quivering Phantom. Green energy had started glowing around the edges of the ghost's hands, "NO YOU DON'T!" The Danny with the gun fired a shot, missing Phantom and burning a hole in the carpet.

"Stop it, Danny!" Clockwork snapped but the Danny beside Sam and Tucker had had enough.

"Put the gun down, Fenton." The Danny who appeared not to be Danny hissed, a forked tongue flicking out from between vicious fangs, "Put it down and step away from Phantom."

"Make me." The other Danny retorted, gun pointed at Phantom, blue eyes on the transforming Danny, "Make me and show your true colors! Come on! Kill me like you killed your other half!"

"Don't talk down to me!" The transforming Danny roared. His skin changed from skin tone to ghostly blue-green, his hair turned white and flared into spikes, sprouting outwards from a spiked band into a ponytail, a white goatee grew from his chin, his clothes rippled and changed into a swirling violet cloak and the familiar, twisted version of Phantom's outfit, a black V-shaped mark faded into view over his left eye, and those eyes glowed a fearsome, burning, hate-filled red.

Sam barely managed to choke down her scream and Tucker fainted clean away right on the spot. Phantom's eyes were huge and Danny was breathing so fast he looked about ready to hyperventilate. That didn't stop his reflexes from kicking in. He swung the ecto-gun away from Phantom and trained it on Dan instead.

But Dan was far faster.

In one swift movement that no human eyes could follow, Dan had snatched the gun from Danny's hand, crushing it to pieces in the same move, grabbed the boy by the front of the shirt and thrown him clean across the room where he smashed into the wall, leaving a nasty dent.

"Dan!" Clockwork shouted, slamming the butt of his staff into the floor, "Enough!"

"No…" Dan growled, his voice a coil of animalistic quality, "Not enough…not nearly enough…" He started towards Danny who had shaken himself from his daze and squeaked in fear when he saw his evil future self approaching, ecto-energy pulsating in those clawed hands.

"Enough!" Clockwork yelled and Dan screeched in agony, falling to his knees on the floor, hands pressed over the left side of his face where blue electricity flared like a thunderstorm.

Sam, whose gaze had been fixated on the scene concerning Danny and Dan, suddenly felt something cold grasp at her legs and looked down to see Phantom with his arms around her knees and face buried in her thigh, shivering like a little kid.

The Goth girl knelt down, prying Phantom's fingers off her as she did so, and, not knowing what else to do, wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Technically, this was still Danny, at least it was a part of him. It seemed odd that Phantom, the one with the powers, should be a cowering, blubbering little child when Fenton, who was completely human now and had no powers to speak of whatsoever, was angry and full of a dangerously dark bravado.

Dan's screaming stopped and Sam looked up. Clockwork had Danny under the arm and wasn't letting go and Dan was still on his knees, making odd hissing noises while flicking his snake-tongue out at the pair. Sam now knew that it had never been Danny going to school, it had been his future self the whole time, but why she didn't know. Her eyes suddenly widened in realization and she unceremoniously shoved Phantom away, stalking across the room to Dan.

"Hey, Evil Future Jerkwad!" She snapped and Dan turned to her.

"Sam, no…" Danny whispered but she ignored him.

"How dare you! How freaking _dare_ you!" She stomped right up to him, raised a hand, and backhanded him across the face, sending him backwards onto his rear, "How you freaking dare _kiss_ me you stupid…stupid…!" Tears welled in her eyes and she couldn't stop them, "I _HATE_ YOU!" She screamed and then ran out of the room.

Dan, Fenton, Phantom, and Clockwork all watched her go with slightly shocked expressions.

* * *

Sam ran up a flight of stairs without even knowing where she was headed. Anger boiled inside her. She couldn't believe it. Dan had the nerve, the indecency, to _kiss_ her in Danny's form.

It was unforgivable.

She rounded a corner and slammed right into someone, knocking them clean off their feet.

"Samantha? What in the world are you doing here?" It was Vlad. Sam pushed herself off the millionaire and hurriedly wiped her eyes. No need for Danny's arch nemeses to see her like a weak spot.

"Ahhhh, you saw Daniel, didn't you?" Vlad had gotten to his feet and Sam hurriedly followed suit, "Quite a spectacle, isn't he? I don't think he's ever been so angry for such a stretch of time." Her turquoise eyes found Sam's lilac ones, "Perhaps Jasmine was right in bringing you and Tucker here." Vlad turned and walked away, an odd note of sorrow ringing in his usually indifferent voice, "Perhaps you can make him see sense…"

Sam was left alone in an empty hallway, confused and slightly hurt. Footsteps ran up behind her and she turned around. It was Danny, looking slightly out of breath, his right arm in the sling.

"Sam…!" He gasped, "What're you doing here?"

"Why don't you tell me what's going on?" She countered, "What've you been doing, holed up at Vlad's place and sending your future self—_evil_ future self—to school looking like you!? He landed himself in detention and he _kissed_ me Danny!" Her hands balled into fists and Danny's face paled, "And why were you chasing your ghost half around with a _gun_!? What's _wrong_ with you!?" She dropped her voice and uncurled her fingers, "Where's my Danny…?"

"Your…Danny?" The black haired boy murmured, looking startled, his face turning pink, "I…Sam, that is…Phantom…" Grief overcame him and Danny sank back against the wall, "It's all Phantom's fault! All of it! If I got rid of him then it would all go away!"

"Danny, stop, please…" Sam knelt beside him, "I'm the one who's supposed to be glooming and depressing, remember! You're stealing my job."

Danny laughed softly, "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"What'd you do to your arm?" Sam asked, trying to get the boy's attention elsewhere.

"Um…" Blue eyes blazed brightly with uncertainty, "I…really don't know. Clockwork said my DNA was breaking down because the Observers tore Phantom and I apart all wrong or something like that. He said if I don't merge with Phantom again I'll die." Danny snorted dismissively, "He's lying. He just wants me to be a hero again. But I won't. He can't make me. I won't go back to being a failure! I won't!"

Danny suddenly winced, his breathing hitched, and he squeezed the front of his T-shirt with his left hand. Sam frowned, pried his fingers apart, and lifted up the front of his shirt. She went as white as a sheet.

"Danny…how can you saw Clockwork's lying…when you look like this…!?" Sam couldn't tear her eyes away from the horrible mutilation that had once been Danny's smooth, clear, chest.

"He is lying…" Danny muttered sullenly, "I don't need Phantom." He closed his eyes, looking extremely tired all of a sudden, "No one needs Phantom."

"I do." Sam said flatly and Danny's eyes blazed open, looking furious and jealous, "And so does Tucker. And Jazz. And your parents. And my parents. And Tucker's parents. And Valerie." Danny's expression became confused, "Well, at least you're still clueless. Amity Park _needs_ you, Danny. Phantom's a coward and you're nothing but pent up anger. Darn it all, Danny, I don't know what it's like to have all of that blow up in your face!" She grabbed his shoulders, looking into his vibrant blue eyes that used to sparkle with laughter, "I don't know what to say to make it all better! But you're hurting yourself! You're hurting _me_!" She threw her arms around him and dragged him closer, burying her face in his scruffy black hair, "It hurts me to see you like this…!"

Danny didn't respond, just hung limply in Sam's arms. After a moment or two, she released him and sat back, brushing her black hair from her face. Danny still looked depressed. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Well, fine, if you want to keep being emo I'll just leave you alone but I'm coming over tomorrow too. And I'll bring you a present." Danny just looked blankly at her, "Oh, come on, get up. We're going back downstairs." She held her hand out and Danny grabbed it, hauling himself to his feet. Together, hand in hand, the two made their way back into the dining room.

Clockwork was waiting for them with a blank-faced Phantom at his side. Almost as soon as he saw Sam, the ghost half grabbed her free hand. Danny glared at him furiously until Sam squeezed his hand and he looked away pointedly. Vlad was there as well as Jazz who was sitting next to Tucker who appeared rather sickly. Dan was in a far corner of the room, fuming, arms crossed over his chest and legs crossed so that he floated in midair. The hem of his violet cloak was inches above the floor and its hood was pulled low so that no one could see his eyes though at this point anyone could probably guess that they were solid red with anger.

Sam took a seat and Fenton and Phantom followed suit on either side of her. Both of them put their elbows on the table top and propped their chins in their hands in the tired sort of way that reminded Sam of the old days. Phantom noticed Fenton was doing the same thing he was and abruptly crossed his arms on the table top and rested his head on his folded arms.

"I think some explaining needs to be done." Clockwork murmured, taking another vacant seat across from Vlad but in a position where he could watch Dan's actions, "It started back when Amethyst first came out of the Yokai Ghost Pits…"

* * *

There, you got a long chapter. Eat, drink, and be merry all night long because I think I'm hitting another solid brick wall of Writer's Block. Crap. Anyone got any dynamite?

Anyway, moving on, I think I got quite a bit filled out in this chapter. Sam and Tucker are now in on the story line, Dan's finally had enough, Fenton's about to snap and go crazy (maybe even emo O.O), Phantom's a spazz-maniac, Vlad's sick and tired of people barging into his house without him knowing, and Clockwork's gotten his buttons pushed so many times he's about to explode himself. So, in all general sense, everyone's at the end of their rope and someone's going to get pushed over the edge sooner or later.

Stay tuned and, hey, maybe you'll find out who. If you want to take a guess at who's gonna lose their marbles (so to speak) first then go ahead and leave a review with your guess. Maybe I'll wait until I get quite a few guesses before I post the next chapter…just to be a booger. XD


	15. Yuruginai Shinrai

**Warning:** **angst and blood and depressing stuff! You have been aptly warned!**

More bits from a part of MIR 2 that will never be posted. Clockwork showed Danny an alternate future where things would have been very different had the Observers not interfered.

Chapter title origin comes from the FullMetal Alchemist art book I own. It means "unbreakable bonds" and here I quote: "Friends, comrades in arms, family, etc….There are certain bonds between people that can't be expressed in words." –Hiromu Arakawa. I just thought it fit in so well with the concept of "Spirit of the Group."

* * *

**Fifteen: Yuruginai Shinrai**

* * *

Danny Fenton was not asleep. He was lying stiffly on his soft, comfortable bed in the room he had to share with Phantom and Dan, starring at the wall with half-closed, dull blue eyes.

Sam and Tucker knew everything.

_How cliché that it would rain._

His DNA was falling apart at the seams, even though he hated to admit it.

_How cliché it was, like a scene from a movie. Everyone was dressed in black and there were a lot of muffled sobs coming from the crowd that surrounded the medium, mahogany casket._

Clockwork was breathing down his neck, trying to put him back together again.

"_He was…everything a best friend could be,"_

Dan was hovering, ever present, like a watchdog. Like a watchdog whose only reason for not attacking its owner was the shock collar around its neck and the heavy metal chain holding it back.

_Choked words, harsh from crying, glasses speckled from the rain, his red beret gone for once, "And so much more than that. There just aren't…there isn't any way to say how much he met to me. To us."_

Jazz wasn't speaking to him anymore.

_His fists clenched as he fought back the tears, "And I could have done something but by the time I realized it was too late and my best friend in the whole world wasn't there anymore to laugh, or protect, or play." _

Vlad wouldn't even so much as shoot a glance in his direction.

_Shoulders shook, "But I won't give in, I'll live out my life because I know that's what he'd want…because he was the center…the center of m-my universe, of o-o-our universe, a-and h-he d-d-didn't d-deserve th-this…!" He burst into tears and his parents gently led him away from the stand._

And Phantom was a crying bunch of ectoplasmic goo.

_Sam balked. She couldn't do it. She just couldn't._

The world was collapsing around his ears.

_She couldn't say everything she wanted to because; like Tucker had said; there were no words for it, she couldn't cry anymore, she didn't have any tears left, and she couldn't, she just couldn't, believe that he was really gone. She had never gotten the chance to…_

It bothered him that the future Clockwork had shown him; and it seemed ages ago now; was not that far from what was probably going to happen to him anyway.

"_I…I d-don't know…" She shook herself and started over, "Danny was plenty of things to a lot of different people. To some of us, he was a loser who represented a punching bag," Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dash Baxter flinch and wipe his eyes furiously, "To others he was an almost friend, someone we could turn to if we needed help," Valeria stifled a sob behind her hand, burying her face in her father's arms, "He was a son," She glanced at Jack and Maddie; Jack was starring blankly at the casket with empty eyes and Maddie hadn't stopped crying, "A brother," Jazz was shaking so hard she looked about ready to fall to pieces, "And a very dear and true friend." Tucker gulped, coughed, and sagged against his mother, "But he was something else…he was…he was the one who p-protected us, guarded us, and helped us through the darkness. He was Danny Phantom, the ghost boy, the one we didn't know what to think of."_

Except this time there would be no body to put in the casket.

_Her vision blurred with tears and a rush of cold fire swept over her, she jumped off the stand and ran to the casket, flinging herself upon it, "Why did you go and do that to yourself!?" She screamed pounding a fist on the wooden top, "Why did you do that, Danny, why!? We loved you, we all did, we were there for you! Why'd you do it!?"_

There would be no mention of Danny Phantom.

_Tears streamed down her face, her screams echoed across the graveyard, tearing from her throat, "I loved you! Why, Danny, why!? Why!? Why!? WHY!?"_

There would be nothing left of him this time.

_She kept screaming and Tucker tried to pry her away, "No!" She flung an arm out, pushing him away, sinking to her knees, leaning against the casket, still hitting it, "You have to come back, Danny, we need you! WHY DID YOU GO AND LEAVE US LIKE THAT!? __**WHY**__!?" _

Danny squeezed his eyes shut but that only made the images in his mind's eye all the more clearer. He opened them again, finding nothing but a black stretch of wall that he could just barely make out in the darkness.

_**I watched the whole thing. What a load of lies. They didn't need me, no one needed me, I was a failure, a loser, a selfish moron who couldn't save anyone. They were all lying.**_

Of course, the funeral hadn't been as half as bad as what Clockwork had showed him next.

_**I hadn't changed much from my death. From my suicide. My hair was still black but it stuck up a little more eccentrically, my eyes were red, and I still had the thin slashes on my wrists…and the huge bloody gash on my neck. Oh, and I was dead. That was different. **_

And of course, that wouldn't happen either. There'd be nothing left to _make_ that happen.

_**Loathing, foolish, lying, stupid, humans. Anger bubbled inside me. They were all the freaking same and I was so glad I wasn't one of them anymore. Killing myself had been the best decision of my life. Amity Park could protect itself, it didn't need dumb old Danny Phantom there to save it. Stupid. It was because of Danny Phantom that over a thousand people had died…! All because of the stupid, stupid ghost boy! **_

And Danny Phantom was stupid. How he hated himself for being such a failure, how he hated every moment that dumb ghost half of himself existed, how he hated himself in general for doing something that could easily have been stopped.

_**Man, I hated myself. Why couldn't I just have died and not have to deal with it anymore!? Why couldn't she have just shown up and taken me away like last time!? Only this time, I wouldn't have wanted to come back. Why was I stuck as a stupid, stupid ghost!?**_

Danny rolled onto his back, starring upwards but unable to find a ceiling in the darkness. Even the dim, green glow given off by Phantom and Dan was not enough to light the room.

_**The anger and hate and blackness that was boiling up inside me simmered down as I focused on her. She was probably the only one I actually still cared about. The rest of them could burn for all I cared. My parents had paid more attention to ghosts than they had to me, my sister was to much of a screwball to care, he'd been to obsessed with his stupid technology to notice, but she had noticed. And I had scorned her. **_

Dan snorted in his sleep and Danny jolted, sitting upright, but the muscular ghost just slouched further down in his armchair, arms still over his chest. Danny lay back, rolled onto his side again, and pulled the covers as far over his head as they would go.

_**She had loved me? Me? The clumsy, selfish, loser, moron, idiot, failure, halfa of Amity Park? I watched her scream and cry, throwing herself on the casket containing my body. Maybe she, of all the people there, was worth sparring. Perhaps she would still love me even after I had taken over the world…**_

The ache in his chest grew and Danny felt his eyes burn, even though they were squeezed shut. He was hurting in more ways than one.

_**Yes, that was it, take over it all, cause destruction and pain to everyone to get rid of my own, venting upon those who hadn't bothered to try and help save the others, leaving me to be a failure. It was all their fault. I'd take away everything they loved and cared about and then see how they liked it.**_

Clockwork had told him that was how Dan had thought. Dan had hated himself…and then blamed the world. In Dan's mind, the solution to his pain was to destroy it all. Destroy everything that had hurt him and could still hurt him. He'd become blinded by rage and hatred and lashed out, obliterating everything he'd once fought so hard to protect.

_**But she would be mine. That black rose that was crying for me would definitely be mine.**_

But Danny didn't want to destroy everything.

"_**Don't worry, Sam," I whispered even though no one would hear me, "As soon as I take what I need from Plasmius everything will be the way it should be…" **_

Danny shivered underneath the blankets. There'd be no body in that casket, there'd be no ghost to haunt the Ghost Zone or destroy everything, and there'd be no one left to protect Amity Park.

No one to protect Amity Park.

That's what had always hit home before but now it seemed like a dead idea. A rotted corpse in rose bush, so to speak.

Amity Park could protect itself. The only reason it'd been in any real danger in the first place was because he'd gotten his ghost powers. Sure, every so often a ghost would pop out and rain some terror for a couple of hours but then his parents would blast it apart and all would be well and good again.

No reason for Danny Phantom to butt in again.

His parents didn't even _like_ Danny Phantom.

And that made Danny all the more stubborn.

He'd once told Plasmius that his parents would accept him, no matter what, because he was their son. Now he wasn't so sure. Could they still accept a boy who'd allowed thousands of other kids to die when he could have done something to stop it?

"Reality bites with a variety of sizes of teeth." He whispered hoarsely, remembering that afternoon walk that seemed so long ago, "And I still can't remember who said it…" He closed his eyes, trying fall asleep, "And this time there isn't a shovel in the world that could dig me out of this crap."

* * *

"Danny, you look like you didn't get any sleep last night." Sam told him.

She and Tucker had dropped by as promised, Sam with a heavy black plastic bag that she refused to let anyone get a look at. At the moment, the trio was in Vlad's home theater, watching _The Matrix_ on the big screen.

"I don't sleep as much anymore." Danny muttered in reply, his eyes glazed as he starred without really seeing at the screen where Neo was learning to fight, "Nightmares. I thought they'd go away once Phantom was gone but they only got worse."

Sam put her hand on his arm, her fingertips light on the bandages that were covering the destruction of his right limb, "Danny, why don't you just…merge with Phantom again? You don't have to go ghost or anything. But it's better than the alternative. I—you can't die. We still need you."

Danny felt a cold sensation seep through his chest, like his ghost sense going off. His limbs went dumb but his eyes felt like they were on fire. In his mind, he could see the horrible future Clockwork had shown him. The one that had haunted his nightmares.

Sam knew how to push all the right buttons.

"I can't." He whispered and it was barely audible over the movie, "It'd hurt too much." He leaned back against the cushioned theater seat, tilting his so that it was facing towards the ceiling, and closed his eyes, "Almost every night I can see them, all those faces, all those people I never even knew, screaming at me. Hating me. And ZeE and Alex are at the front. And they hate me. And you and Tucker are there. And you hate me." He shuddered, voice shaking. Even Tucker's attention was no longer on the movie, "I didn't know how to make them stop hating me. I thought they hated Phantom so when Phantom was gone I thought they'd stop hating me. But they didn't You didn't. At first, it was just them, the kids and you, glaring at me, screaming, hating, but now I…I can see that horrible future that would have been."

"You mean with Dan Phantom?" Tucker asked but Danny shook his head.

"No. I…" His voice caught and he swallowed thickly, brow furrowing, "I…killed myself."

Silence except for the movie playing.

"Dude…" Tucker said in a low voice, his eyes wide, "You seriously would have done that?"

"According to Clockwork, yeah." Danny straightened up, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes, "He showed me that future not long after the…accident at Ed's School. Told me I could probably stop myself from doing that if I quit feeling sorry for myself. I told him to shove it and that he didn't care how I felt and he got mad and kicked me out of his lair. It wasn't long after that when the Observers grabbed me."

"Did it…hurt when they…pulled you apart?" Tucker asked slowly. It was some time before Danny answered.

"Yeah. Like nothing I'd ever felt before." He snorted in a soft laugh and half-smiled, "I thought for a second it was my heart breaking."

"Why would you think that?" It was Sam who asked this time.

Danny's face darkened but not with anger, with pain, "Because…I thought no one was going to come for me. I thought you'd leave me there to the Observers because you hated me."

"You're so clueless." Sam snapped, hitting him lightly on the back of the head, "We don't hate you. We've been trying to help you but if you're going to keep brooding and pushing us away then we'll stay away."

"No, uh, I didn't mean it!" Danny said quickly and Tucker chuckled as the boy's face flushed crimson, "I'm sorry, guys, really, it's just been…really hard."

"Well here," Sam rolled her eyes, reaching into the black bag she'd been hauling around all day, "Maybe this'll help." She pulled out a dark purple backpack with black butterflies printed on it and pressed it into Danny's hands. By the pale light from the theater screen, she saw his eyes widen and glisten with tears.

It was ZeE's laptop.

Then the memories came flooding back…

"_You forgot, didn't you?" Alex crossed his arms, ZeE snickering in the background, "We have cleaning duty tonight! I told you that yesterday! Geez, Danny, don't you listen?"_

"_No." Danny smirked, leaning against the door frame, "Well, sometimes. When did you tell me?"_

"_Lunch time."_

"_Then I was definitely __**not**__ listening. List3ning is n0t l33t."_

"_ZeE, darn it all, have you been teaching him l33t!?"_

"_M3?" The hacker chuckled, ducking a swing from the brown-haired boy, "N3v3r!" He laughed again and dodged to Danny's side, making a stupid face, "Ph34r m3!"_

His vision blurred and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. The noise form the movie was like a low buzz of static, he barely heard it at all.

"_You've been acting weird since last night, man," ZeE said in a low voice, spearing a piece of egg on his fork and putting it in his mouth, speaking past it, "I mean, we're all a little weird and I dunno if this is some sort of halfa thing you have once a month or something but your moodiness is really bugging me."_

The memories hurt now, hurt physically, burning at his heart. He'd let them down.

"_Why're you doing this!? Let me GO! I don't want to go back there! Let GO!" _

He'd let Alex down…

"_Enjoying yourself?" Alex smirked and Danny punched his arm, shoving the other boy to the side and knocking his glasses askew, "Jerk!" _

"_Nah!" Danny blocked a swing from Alex and high fived him instead, "I'm totally bored! Dying with boredom here!"_

"_That's what I thought."_

He'd let ZeE down…

_ZeE smirked and pulled the puck out, balancing it on the tip of his pinky finger before setting it on the table again. But he didn't hit it; it looked like he was remembering something that was hurting him._

"_I was misunderstood." He finally said, his accent thicker now that he'd lowered his voice, "People called me…names that they had no right to, judging me by my appearance and looks alone. I didn't have any friends."_

"_Uh-oh," Alex was suddenly at ZeE's side, tapping a thick book on the other boy's spiky orange hair, "Looks like you made the ever buoyant Zachary deflate. Come on, man, perk up." He poked ZeE in the side a couple times and the boy squirmed, a grin splitting his features._

"_Cut it out, Alex!" He unexpectedly whipped the puck across the table at Danny who, not ready for the move, flung his arm out and nicked it but not enough to make it not go into his goal._

"_Darn!" He tossed the paddle down on the table, smiling, "You beat me! Not even my best friends can beat me at Air Hockey!"_

He'd let all those kids down and it hurt him so much. He felt Sam wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him close. He didn't react, just kept starring at the computer on his lap.

"Danny, what happened was not your fault! It was Yulcifer! You know that!"

"_I swear, the two of you are like four year olds! You sleep like four year olds, you eat like four year olds, you act like four year olds, and you leave messes everywhere like four year olds!" Alex's voice spliced reality and hazy nightmares into one before yanking Danny from the depths of sleep with a groan to rival a zombies', "Hey, sleepy head, nice to see you awake! You missed breakfast." _

"_Errggghhh…breakfast…?" Danny moaned and rubbed the sleep from his blue eyes, blinking in the light and sitting up, "Wh-what time is it?"_

"You did your best, dude, that's what really counts. Yulcifer started the whole thing and you finished it the best you could! No one holds it against you. I bet ZeE and Alex think you're really awesome."

"_Come on, ZeE, quit messing around! We won! Get up! Let's get outta here!" Nothing, "ZeE!? ZeE, wake up!" Still no response, "ZeE? ZeE, come on, man, wake up!" Danny shook the boy's shoulders again as his friends approached but ZeE's eyes wouldn't open and he wasn't breathing, "ZEE!"_

"But…guys…I failed them. I was…supposed to protect them. What good is it for me to have powers if I can't use them to protect people?"

"_No…no way…!" Danny moaned, feeling his eyes burn, his fists clenching on the cool earth, sagging to his knees, "I…I hate this…! I have powers…and I can't even save the people I care about!"_

"_Danny…" Sam crouched beside him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Danny, it'll be okay…"_

"_No it won't!" Danny screamed, squeezing his eyes shut, his white hair changing back to black as tears rolled down his cheeks unchecked, "It won't be okay! You don't get it!" He slammed his fists into the ground, "I'm supposed to save them all! All of them! THEY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE!!"_

"Danny, you _did_ protect people! You protected us! You protected Amity Park! You saved the world!" Sam's voice was right in his ear, "And if that isn't clear enough for you, I only know one thing that's going to clear it all up!"

"_IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO END THIS WAY!!" Danny screamed, still crying, "EVERYONE'S SUPPOSED TO COME OUT ALIVE JUST LIKE ALWAYS!! HOW CAN I BE A HERO IF I CAN'T SAVE EVERYONE!? IT'S NOT FAIR! It's not fair! It's not…fair…!"_

She cupped his face in her hands, turning it so he was looking at her, leaned forward, and kissed him.

Things came into a sudden sharp focus and Danny jerked away without realizing what he was doing. Thoughts churned in his head as he starred at Sam's shocked expression. He knew what he had to do. It all made sense now. He got to his feet and, after a moment or two of struggling, slung the laptop over his shoulder and dashed out of the room.

"Um, shouldn't we go after him?" Tucker asked, looking back at the swinging doors where his best friend had vanished, "He had a scary, insane glint in his eye." He looked back at Sam, "I don't think you should kiss him anymore."

"Shut up, Tucker." Sam growled, turning her attention back to the screen, "He's just finally figured out what he wants to do. What he _has_ to do."

_And it was at that moment that everything came into horribly clear focus. This had been the last straw. Danny wasn't going to get better, he wasn't going to go back to the old Danny they'd all loved. He was gone. Completely. _

_Forever._

_Forever Phantom?_

_Not likely. _

_Forever Fenton?_

_No. Fenton was dead too._

_Then forever…what? _

* * *

A whole chapter of nothing but "cuts-and-pastes" I'm so cheap! (laughs) But, no, I think this chapter turned out rather well considering most of it was from previous stuff (an un-posted OS and Melody in Red 2: Conspiracy of Crimson).

So, what's Danny figured out that had has to do? Dunno guess we'll have to wait for the next chapter. Oh yeah, and I guarantee someone's going to go flying off their rocker in the next one. It's gonna be NUTS and I'm going to love every minute of it…! Mwahahaha!


	16. In Your Regrets

They say that getting there is half the fun, right? What a bunch of bull. I hate long car rides. No matter how much stuff you bring with you it all just sort of gets really dull after a while. I spent about three hours in a car playing _Danny Phantom: The Ultimate Enemy_ on my GBA and ended up with sore thumbs. My bad.

So, some little things. I may have gotten the line from UE wrong but I haven't seen it in a while (oh how I long to). And the line about shooting first and questions is Kleiver's (or however you spell his name, the fat lard tub) from 'Jak X: Combat Racing'.

* * *

**Sixteen: In Your Regrets**

* * *

Danny ran up the stairs, after making a quick stop in one of Vlad's private studies, the laptop banging against his leg. ZeE had been taller than him and the strap was set for him. Danny would keep it that way.

He rushed past Dan who shot him a withering look that was ignored and turned down another hall. Dan rolled his eyes and floated down through the stairs, his sharp hearing picking up the noise of the surround sound in Vlad's home theater. He found Sam and Tucker sitting in there, an empty seat between them and floated over to plop into what he assumed had been Danny's place. Sam glared at him briefly.

"Saw Danny tearing through the mansion like the Devil was on his heels." The ghost murmured, "Kind of crazy looking."

"Sam kissed him." Tucker responded bluntly and Sam kicked him, "OUCH!"

"So kissing him makes him want to run through Vlad's house with a fully armed a functional ecto-gun in his hands?" Dan said thoughtfully, stroking his goatee, "Funny, he must have gone off the deep end."

Sam's eyes widened in horror and she bolted from the theater. Tucker watched her go with a slightly amazed expression but Dan was still facing the screen, not looking at all interested in the goings on around him.

"I like _The Matrix_," He whispered to himself, "It makes you wonder how much of your life you've spent dreaming…" He turned on Tucker, green ectoplasm boiling in his clawed hand, "And how much of it you've spent wide awake and terrified."

Tucker's face went pale and his glasses slid down his nose.

"Come on, Tucker, I know you can scream!" Dan hissed, his fangs prominent and his forked tongue flicking the air, "So scream! And see if anyone comes running for you!"

* * *

Sam knew where Danny was heading. But he had a head start. But he was also hurt. Hopefully she'd catch him in time. She took the stairs two at a time, her heavy combat boots thumping on the carpet, turned a corner and ran right _through_ Clockwork. She shivered as a wave of cold rushed over her and then she'd disappeared around another corner and left a rather annoyed and embarrassed Clockwork in her wake.

Sam figured Danny must have taken a different route and cursed. He knew this mansion better than she did and he was probably there already. Where was Vlad when you needed him!? For a moment, her mind flashed to Tucker. She'd left him with that beastie Dan Phantom. But he should be alright. Tucker wasn't stupid.

The Goth stopped short at a landing and looked at the two stairwells, one leading up to the left and the other leading up to the right. Very faint and barely audible footsteps echoed above her to her left and she dove up the stairs. He sounded so far ahead…!

* * *

Danny raced up the stairs. This would solve it all, this was the answer to everything. The answer to his future, the answer to the pain, and the answer to the nightmares. He'd be free of it all and life would go on as usual. Of course, he'd thought about before, attempted it before, but had never had the guts to do it. Clockwork's words and his own DNA breaking down were like the Grim Reaper clutching at his neck; a constant reminder. But Sam's kiss had cleared that all up.

He'd been happier before he'd gotten his ghost powers.

When he'd lost them, things went back pretty much too normal.

So logically, with Phantom out of the way he'd be happy again.

So Phantom had to die.

Danny skidded to a halt in front of the room he shared with two ghosts and prayed that neither Clockwork nor Vlad was in there. Stowing the ecto-gun in the back of his pants, the cold metal resting against his back, he pushed the door open and walked inside, closing it and locking it behind him.

Phantom's glowing green eyes found him in an instant.

* * *

Tucker screamed.

He screamed as loud as he could. A piercing shriek to rival Dan's Ghostly Wail.

Unfortunately for Tucker, he started screaming at the same time Neo and Trinity started the gun fight in the building where they were attempting to rescue Morphius. And no matter how loud and high pitched he was, there was no way he was beating the gun shots raging from the surround sound.

Dan's grin widened and he clenched his fist, dissipating the ectoplasm gathered there in an instant and clamping his hand over the dark-skinned boy's mouth. Tucker's eyes were the size of dinner plates.

"Now listen closely, Tucker," Dan whispered but it somehow carried audibly over the stereo system, "Clockwork may have me on a leash and I may be under orders but that doesn't stop me from hating you all." He tilted his head to the side, still grinning, "Remember what I told you and Sam when we first met?"

Tucker nodded under Dan's grasp. He remembered it vividly.

"_Ah, Sam and Tucker. If I had one ounce of humanity left in me this would be a very touching reunion. Unfortunately for you, I got rid of my human half a long time ago."_

His body went numb with the memories. Dan evidently sensed this drop in temperature because his grin became all the more prominent.

"That's what I thought." His evil smile suddenly dropped and he slammed Tucker into the back of the chair, "Now think about this! If Fenton tries to destroy Phantom and winds up killing himself, who do you think Phantom's going to turn to!? Vlad! He knows about me! He knows how I got this way! And he knows he's got no chance of surviving on his own!" A twisted sort of half-grin, half-snarl curled Dan's pale lips, "And however much I'd love to see that happen…it would mean I would never get back to my own time! Do you understand me!?"

Tucker gulped and nodded, at a complete loss for words. Fear had choked him. Dan sat back, green energy flicking off his body, and crossed his arms over his chest, red eyes narrowing.

"There is no spoon." He muttered at the same time Neo did.

* * *

"Oh, geez, I was just about to go looking for you." Phantom said in a hushed voice, standing up off the bed, "Danny I just want to—."

"To be Danny Phantom again." Fenton put in bluntly and his blank features suddenly contorted in pain and anger, "No way! I told you I'm _done_ with the hero crap!"

"Will you just listen to me for once instead of screaming at me!?" Phantom was obviously distressed, "I _know_ you don't want any of that but I'm still _you_! I'm a part of _you_! You can't just—!"

"Shut up." The black-haired Fenton boy didn't shout but the rage in his voice was crystal clear. He yanked the ecto-gun out of his pants and pointed it at Phantom, "Just shut up. You don't get it. _I_. _Don't_. _Care_. I don't want to be Danny Phantom anymore. Danny Phantom was a failure who let thousands of people die! I was a risk to my friends and family. To this whole town! It's better off this way!" Tears welled in his vibrant blue eys, spilling over and down his cheeks, "I should thank those stupid Observers for what they did!"

"B-but Danny," Phantom was struggling for a foothold in the conversation, trying to delay the inevitable, "How can you protect everyone now?

"What, you can't?"

"You know I won't be able to! I'll fade same as you! And besides," The ghost seemed to think he'd gotten Danny's attention diverted from the gun, "I'm not…not nearly powerful enough. N-not…without you."

"Well, I'll tell you how I'm going to fend off you ghosts…" Danny leveled out the ecto-gun so it was pointed straight at Phantom's heart; if the ghost had one, "Just like this."

* * *

Sam skidded around a corner, trying desperately to get to the room before it was too late. She knew Danny would beat her there but hopefully he wouldn't dive in guns blazing like he would have done in his early days. Back then it was "shoot first and then shoot the ones asking questions."

Now…well, Danny had grown up. Changed. Experienced things that no teenager in the world should have had to experienced.

The Goth rounded the final corner and charged down the hall, hardly noticing how out of breath she was, and slipped to a stop in front of the door. She grabbed the handle and yanked on it but, predictably, he'd locked it. But Sam had been busting through her own lock on her door in her room for years and knew how to get this one out.

She hefted one leg up, aimed, and kicked with all her might, jolting the door and cracking lock, effectively opening it. Her eyes widened and the color drained from her face.

"Danny! _NO_!"

* * *

"Danny, don't do it…!" Phantom stumbled across the room, glowing neon green ectoplasm tickling down his cheeks, mirroring Fenton's own tears, "Don't pull that trigger…!"

Fenton matched his movements perfectly. Soon, they were lined up, across the room from one another, parallel to the wall with the locked door.

"If it gets rid of you and your stupid meddling…!" Danny snarled, grip tightening on the gun, "You've been haunting me and haunting me and I'm tired of the past trying to _take_…_me_…_DOWN_!"

There was a cracking noise and then someone screamed, "Danny! _NO_!"

The cry made him jerk in surprise, having two consequences; the ecto-gun went off and Danny's aim changed. The beam blasted through Phantom's left shoulder and splattered the ghost's green blood everywhere. Phantom fell back against the wall, sliding down it, one hand to his shoulder, and leaving a bright green smear down the white wall.

There was a horribly thick silence.

Danny dropped the ecto-gun to the floor, breathing heavily, a shocked look on his face, Sam stood framed in the door, panting from her run, horrified at what Danny had almost done, and Phantom…

Phantom raised his hand off his shoulder, looking with wide, terrified eyes at the green staining his white glove. His emerald gaze shifted from his shaking hand to Danny's face.

"You…you shot me…" He whispered, "You shot me…" He blinked, as though trying to focus on something, "You shot me." He pushed himself to his feet, fear being replaced by pain and hate, "You shot me!" Ectoplasm swirled around his clenched fists as he hovered in the air, "YOU SHOT ME!"

"DANNY! _MOVE_!" Sam screamed and the black-haired boy dropped to the floor just as a beam of energy fried the wall behind him. Danny's face was pale and he was shaking as he scrambled across the floor on his stomach, dragging his right arm and the laptop behind him. Sam grabbed him under the arms and hefted him upright and they dodged out of the way as another ecto-beam blasted the door off its hinges.

"YOU SHOT ME!" Phantom continued to scream, flying out of the door and charging another ecto-beam in his hands, "YOU SHOT ME!" Sam and Danny dropped to the floor once again as the beam whizzed over their heads. Phantom's eyes were blazing almost white with insanity and hatred, his white hair was wild, tossed and twisted, and his right arm, even though it was damaged by his DNA breaking down, was moving, supported by his boiling energy.

"Run…!" Sam choked, shaking next to Danny, "RUN, DANNY!"

Danny dived one way and Sam the other as a hail of ectoplasm burned away the carpet. Danny was practically trying to run on all fours (or all threes, considering his right arm was not working) and ended up falling head over heels down a flight of stairs, Phantom hot on his trail. Sam dived at the ghost and knocked him out of the air just as he attempted to blast Danny with another charged ecto-beam. The beam misfired and ripped a hole in the ceiling, sending a shower of drywall, glass, wood, and carpet bits from the floor above raining down on them. Dust filled the air, obscuring their vision.

"Danny!? Danny!?" Sam coughed, waving her hand through the air, trying to dispel the dust, "Danny!? Are you okay!"

"Sam!? Ahhhhhhhhhggg!" A flare of green through the smoky air and Sam ran forward, stumbling over rubble, eyes burning with tears.

"Danny! Danny, answer me!"

Something heavy fell on her and sent her to the floor, causing her to scrape her arm on a piece of glass and cut it open. She struggled but found herself trapped under a piece of ceiling, everything from her waist down being crushed painfully tight against the floor. Blood was pooling on the floor from her cut arm.

"Danny! Danny if you can hear me run! Get out of here!" She shouted at the top of her voice, still trying to get out from underneath the ceiling piece, "Find Clockwork! Or Vlad! Heck, even Dan! Just GO!"

"Sam!?" Another flare of green light, "Sam, where are you!?"

"It doesn't matter! Get out of here!"

"Sam!"

"YOU SHOT ME, DANNY! YOU SHOT ME!" There was a blast of white-green light so intense that Sam squeezed her eyes shut and could still see its radiance, feeling the cold energy roll down the hall, hearing it rip the walls and lights down. There was a roaring sound, a scream of pain, and then, with a sort of teasing, agonizing slowness, darkness took her.

* * *

And I think I'll just leave you there. Man, the way I'm writing this up it's sort of starting to sound like the ending, like someone's going to die. How depressing.

Well, I did warn you. Someone went off the deep end. Phantom. How wonderful. And now, because he's completely lost his mind, Phantom's trying to kill Danny.


	17. The Breaking Point

So, here's a recap: Fenton and Phantom were separated by the Observers and their DNA is breaking down, Clockwork has released Dan Phantom, Danny's evil(?) future self from the thermos and has guaranteed him that, if he helps Fenton and Phantom merge together again, he'll be returned to his own time, Clockwork has sent Jack and Maddie off on a little excursion to keep them out of the way, and Phantom has finally lost his marbles and is trying to kill Danny.

Could things possibly get any better?

Oh yes, and in case I didn't already put this and people are throwing hissy fits over it, let me just reestablish one thing: Fenton and Phantom are the _same person_! What the Observers did to them is very similar to the incident with the dream-catcher thing whose name eludes me at the moment. Physical and psychological personalities were split; Phantom ended up scared half out of his mind (now all the way, by the looks of it) because of what happened and Fenton was all pent up anger and self-pity crap. Simply that. So, I repeat myself, _**Fenton and Phantom are the same person!**_

* * *

**Seventeen: The Breaking Point**

* * *

The whole mansion suddenly shook and Tucker looked up at the ceiling and then at Dan who hadn't taken his attention away from the screen.

"Dan, what was—?"

"It was Phantom." Dan growled, "He's lost his marbles and that's no doubt due to Danny." With an annoyed sigh, Dan stood up and turned intangible, heading towards the ceiling, "I better go stop him before somebody gets killed."

"K-killed!? WHAT!?" But the ghost was already gone, leaving Tucker alone in the theater. The techie curled his knees up to his chin on the theater chair, rocking back and forth with his arms wrapped around his legs, thinking for a moment or two. Coming to a decision, he jumped off his seat and ran towards the door…only to find it locked.

"Hey!" He yanked on the handles, "Let me out! Dan!" He called the ghost a number of foul names, "You locked me in! Let me out! DDDAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!"

* * *

Vlad nearly dropped the handful of delicate machine parts he was holding as the mansion shook on its foundations.

"What the fudgenuts!?" The millionaire set the parts on a table and allowed the black rings to wash over him, turning him into his ghost form, "I've had enough of the rough-housing!" And he vanished through the ceiling.

* * *

Jazz winced as the book slid through her fingers and hit her foot. Seconds later, she was on the floor next to said book, starring up at the ceiling. Something had shaken the whole mansion.

"Danny…?" She pushed herself to her feet and opened her door, "Danny?" Worry sent a cold feeling through her chest and she ran out the door, heading for the stairs.

* * *

It was the throbbing in her arm that told her she was still alive.

Sam blinked, trying to get her vision to focus but everything was blurred by the thinning dust and the blinding light that had made tears spring into her eyes. Phantom had probably unleashed a huge wave of energy. She hoped that Danny was okay.

With a groan, Sam attempted to leverage the ceiling piece off her again but it was too heavy and she yielded with a gasp of pain. Her arm was hurting terribly and she was losing feeling in her lower half.

"D-Danny!?" She called, coughing, "Danny, can you hear me!?"

Her answer was a howling scream of rage and blinding flares of green light. Someone shouted and there came the muffled sounds of someone scrambling through the ceiling wreckage.

"Sam!?" Jazz's voice sounded to her left and she looked around to see the red-haired girl drop down beside her, "Sam, what happened!?"

"Phantom! It's Phantom! He's attacking Danny!" Sam heaved against the rubble again, "Jazz, can you get this off of me!?"

Danny's older sister knelt down and pushed against the ceiling slab, slowly rocking it off of the Goth. Sam got herself to her feet, clutching her bleeding arm to her chest, ignoring the pain. Flash of green light, muffled yelps, and whimpers were coming through the dust and, as it settled, Sam was able to discern two figures, just barely silhouettes.

"What have you done to my house!?" Vlad suddenly rocketed through the floor, livid with rage, "You idiots! I've had it! I've absolutely—!"

"Shut up, Vlad!" Dan zig-zagged down the hall as Clockwork dropped from the ceiling behind Phantom, "And protect Sam and Jazz!"

"Where's Tucker!? What'd you do to him!?" Sam shouted but Dan had already turned intangible and dove inside Danny's body. Danny went ridged, eyes widening, muscles taunt and back straight as Dan's ectoplasm seeped into him, taking him over.

Phantom shouted in triumph, forming dangerous swirls of ectoplasmic energy in his hands. But his enthusiasm was short lived. Clockwork dropped his staff into Jazz's hands, turned intangible, and dove into Phantom. The Time Ghost taking over Phantom was quite a bit of a spectacle. Ghosts overshadowing other ghosts is an odd experience; their ectoplasmic structures reject one another. But Clockwork was centuries stronger than Phantom and soon had him under control.

Danny (Dan) on the ground let out of heavy breath, eyes closed, and then straightened up. It was eerie to see Danny's usually blue eyes a burning crimson. He rolled his shoulders, stretched his left arm above his head, cracked his neck, and arched his back until it popped. Then he grinned, "Mmmmm, gravity. I'd forgotten what it felt like."

"Indeed," Phantom's green eyes had changed to a warm, rich red, "And I would recommend not using any—GET OUT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Phantom's eyes flashed green and he gripped his white hair angrily, pulling at it like he could pull Clockwork out, "HE SHOT ME! HE SHOT ME! _GET OUT_!"

Another blaze of green energy and Clockwork went flying head over ghostly-tail to land with an undignified crash against the wall and slump to the floor, dazed and one a the knees on his black pants torn open. Blue ectoplasm trickled in a slow stream from a cut on his pale skin.

Dan made a horrible growling noise that sounded wrong coming from Danny as Phantom went into a peal of insane laughter. Footsteps rang out behind them and Tucker skidded around a corner, a modified Fenton Thermos clutched in his hands. Phantom was still laughing but Dan noticed, grabbed the thermos, and pointed it at Phantom. Tucker dodged to Sam's side.

"Where were you!?" Sam hissed.

"Dan locked me in the theater but I hacked my way out with my PDA and grabbed a Fenton Thermos on the way up here." The techie responded, "Where is Dan anyway?"

"Hey Phantom!" Dan shouted, Danny's voice sounding hoarse and dangerous, "How do you like the Fenton Thermos!?"

Phantom stopped his maniacal laughing and his eyes widened as his gaze fell upon the Fenton Thermos. Then they narrowed, glowing so brightly they were almost white.

"You…wouldn't…dare…!" He hissed, ectoplasm flickering off his body.

"Don't think I—AAAAHHHHHHGGGG!" A beam of bottle green caught Dan in the shoulder, sending Danny's body spinning through the air to land with a thud on the floor. The Fenton Thermos went flying and Jazz made a jump for it but someone else grabbed it first.

"Mine." Phantom rumbled and even Vlad took an unconscious step backwards. Phantom whirled around and aimed the thermos at Clockwork who was just coming to.

"Phantom, sto—!" The Time Ghost began but a blue-white beam of light shot out, enveloped Clockwork, and pulled him into the thermos. Phantom capped it and punched the side, shorting the controls out and effectively locking the Master of Time inside.

Dan rolled to his feet with some difficulty, hindered by Danny's bandaged arm, and glared at Phantom who was tossing the thermos back and forth from hand to hand with a dreadfully smug look on his face. Dan cracked Danny's back again, pushed his shoulders back, and sucked in a giant breath of air.

"Dan! Don't!" Vlad shouted and Dan froze, looking almost comical with his cheeks puffed out, "If you use your Ghostly Wail it couldn't rip out Danny's vocal cords!" Dan let the air woosh out, blowing it past his lips to make odd noises, and deflated like a balloon.

Phantom sneered, "I am not so limited." The ghost half of Danny arched his back, fingers tightening on the thermos, and pulled in a breath of air bigger than Dan's. Everyone instinctively squeezed their eyes shut and covered their ears but all they heard was the normal, mundane scream of Phantom. There was no energy behind it. There was no Ghostly Wail.

Phantom shut his mouth as soon as he realized that he was just screaming like a mad man and raised his hand to fire more ectoplasm at the vulnerable Dan Phantom. A beam of pink ectoplasmic energy hit the specter on the side of the head, sending him spinning into the wall and causing him to drop the thermos so that it landed with a clatter on the floor. Sam scooped it up in her good arm and held it close.

Phantom shook his head, wiping a way a stream of green ectoplasmic blood with one white gloved hand and leaving an emerald smear across his fingers with it. His eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation. Vlad, with more pink ectoplasm boiling in his clawed hands, Dan, looking even angrier than usual with a fist clenched around the strap of ZeE's laptop like he was going to bash Phantom over the head with it, and Jazz, Sam, and Tucker all ready to jump in and help if they were needed.

"See you worms!" Phantom snarled and he fell back through the wall.

"Clockwork's going to murder me when he gets out of that thermos…" Dan murmured as he stepped out of Danny with a heavy sigh and ran his clawed fingers through his fiery hair, his humanoid form abandoned.

"Wha…huh?" Danny blinked drearily, his blue eyes coming into focus, "What happened? Sam, you're arm's bleeding…! Where's Phantom!? What happened!?"

"Phantom ran off," Vlad growled, "No thanks to your idiotic actions! Now, if you don't mind," The black light trailed over his body, leaving a black suited man in its wake, "I'm going to call a repair crew to fix this place up!" And he stomped off angrily. Dan hissed at his retreating back, flicking his tongue out.

"Sam, let me clean your arm up," Jazz took the Goth girl's hand, "We can worry about Clockwork later! It's not like he's going anywhere…"

Sam handed the thermos off to Tucker and followed Jazz from the hall, shooting a worried look in Danny's direction. Danny's blue eyes trailed from Sam's lilac ones to the broken thermos clutched in Tucker's hands. Dan snorted.

"What happened to Clockwork? What happened to me!? I can't…remember…?" Danny closed his eyes, chewing on his lip and Dan chortled. The Fenton boy whirled around angrily, "You! You overshadowed me!"

"Hey, saved your life didn't I?" Dan examined his gloved claws nonchalantly, "So just shut up and take it!" He smacked Danny with the back of his hand and sent the boy to the floor again, "Clockwork's not around to save your little hides right now! I could kill you and be done with it!" Dan's eyes glowed a fearsome red, "But then I wouldn't get back to my own time! And I'm _not_ going back into that thermos again!"

Snarling and cursing, Dan Phantom shot into the air, violet cloak billowing out behind him, and disappeared. Danny made a face and looked back at Tucker, "What happened to Clockwork?"

"Phantom sucked him in here," The techie muttered helplessly, holding out the Fenton Thermos, "And then smashed the controls. Clockwork's trapped in here now."

"Bet he's pissed beyond belief." Danny muttered, taking the thermos with his left hand, "Dang, that jerk really did a number on this."

"Danny were you…were you really trying to kill Phantom?"

Danny's black hair was shadowing half of his face; he really needed a haircut, "Yeah." He replied hoarsely, "I was being stupid again, thinking about what I _wanted_ and not was actually _best_ for me. For everyone." His blue eyes trailed to his bandaged arm, "This whole angsty-emo-boy routine is killing Sam. So, I guess, I could merge with Phantom again…just to stay alive, you know."

"Right, dude, you keep telling yourself that." Tucker said with a grin that made Danny scowl, "Because you know the real reason you're doing—DANNY! RUN!"

"Wha—mmmmhhhppphhhggg!?" A hand clamped itself over Danny Fenton's mouth, hauling him into the air with another arm wrapped around his waist. Danny's feet kicked out, dropping the thermos to the floor as he attempted to claw off the hand that was rendering him speechless.

"Daniel Fenton in custody," The guard spoke into the com unit in his helmet, "Target 003 acquired. Targets 001: Phantom, 002: Dan Phantom, and 004: Clockwork not in sight." The guard's narrowed eyes found Tucker, "Verifying: Tucker Foley, Human, Close Friend of Daniel Fenton. Capture and Detain."

Tucker screamed.

* * *

Vlad heard a scream just as the dial tone for the repair place he'd called was cut short and a voice came over the phone, _"Hello, this is the Amity Park Repair Building. What can we do for you?"_

"Tucker!" Vlad growled, dropping the phone and running up the stairs, changing back into his ghost form as he did so. (_"Hello? Is this another prank call? Hello!? I am _so _fired…_)

Plasmius flew down the hall, assessed the situation, and barreled straight into the guard, claws digging under the helmet and tearing it off. Danny slipped from the ghost's grasp and plopped to the floor, gasping and snatching up the thermos again. Vlad tussled with the guard, firing pink blasts of ectoplasm and ripping at the enemy ghost with claws and fangs. Vlad was never one to use his sharp features in a fight, preferring punches and ecto-energy attacks, but at the moment he was too pissed to even care. The guard soon dissipated into a greenish haze that fizzled away with an odd pop.

"Did you…did you kill him!?" Tucker squeaked as Vlad landed on the floor again.

"No," The older halfa said in a low voice, "The Observers have manipulated the ectoplasm of their guards so that, when destroyed, their essence will return to the Ghost Zone and rebuild itself."

"That sounds really gross." Danny commented as he hauled himself to his feet, the laptop (amazingly still in one piece) swinging around his legs, "And if that guard found us, I think we should get out of here."

"Agreed, Little Badger," Vlad responded, reverting to his human form, "I'll start my car up, you and Tucker grab Jasmine and Samantha and anything you might need and meet me in the front of the mansion. We're going—."

"After Phantom and Dan." Danny stated stubbornly and when Vlad's turquoise eyes narrowed, the Fenton boy frowned and pointed to his bandaged arm. Vlad relented and made his way down the stairs.

"Come on, Tuck, let's get the girls!" Danny said with a smile and headed in the opposite direction. Tucker followed, grinning widely.

"Dude, it's good to hear you say that! Nice to have you back!"

"I hope I'll stick around long enough so you won't have to eat your words!"

* * *

Dan knew that Phantom was well aware he was being followed but that didn't stop him from racing through the skies of Amity Park after him. Phantom, Phantom, Phantom, Phantom! Phantom was the key to everything and yet, in Fenton's opinion, the ultimate cause of it all!

"Hey, Phantom!" Dan shouted at the black and white figure bolting around the sky scrapers, "When did you turn into such a coward!? To scared to face your inevitable future!"

Phantom screeched to a halt and whirled around to face Dan, features contorted in rage, "I'll never…be like _you_!"

"Oh really?" Dan crossed his arms over his broad chest, grinning darkly, "You came awfully close to killing off your human half. Aren't you just the least bit curious," Dan held up one hand flexing his fingers to emphasize his claws, "As to what the feeling of warm human blood on your hands feels like?"

Phantom started shaking, eyes wide and horrified, breath coming quick and fast. Dan charged a sphere of ectoplasm in his hand and started tossing it up into the air only to catch in his palm again and repeat the process. Phantom barely noticed. He looked as though he was trying not to cry.

"Really Phantom, don't be stupid. Whatever lies Clockwork tells you, the future is inevitable. I _will_ happen, I'll make sure of it somehow." Fangs glistened as a forked tongue slowly traced pale lips, "So here's the deal; you come back with me all nice and quiet like, merge with Fenton brat again, and no one needs to get hurt. Or _killed_."

"I don't have to listen to you." Phantom growled, charging his own ecto-energy, "I don't have to listen to you! I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU!"

"Geez, I hope Danny doesn't lose his marbles when you two get put back together again." Dan stated flatly and threw the sphere of ectoplasm at Phantom with all his might, "IT'S A SINKER, PHANTOM! ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE!?"

* * *

Cutting off the chapter here so I have something left for the next chapter. Yeah! Dog fights! Whoo-hoo! Clockwork's in the Fenton Thermos, he's probably so pissed right now!

Anyway, I'm sorry, so sorry, for the late update. I've been too lazy to bike to the library and try and upload them there. I don't think it's worth the effort. Hopefully, when school starts, that'll be a different story.

See you around! Thanks for reading and please leave a review! Byes!


	18. Bitter Emerald Rain

I have returned! If I finish this before I finish Shadows Are Supposed to Stay Sleeping I'm going to hit myself. Then again SASTSS isn't really going anywhere at the moment. Am I an idiot or what?

* * *

**Eighteen: Bitter Emerald Rain**

* * *

"Vlad! Ahhhhg! Slow down! You're driving too fast!"

"Be quiet! I'm trying to catch up to them!"

"I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"

"You're driving like my dad!"

"Daniel! Do _not_ compare me to your father right now or, so help me, I'll blast you myself!"

"I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"

"Tucker shut up!!"

Vlad slammed on the brakes and Danny jolted forward in the passenger seat, the only thing keeping him from smashing his head into the dashboard was the tightened seat belt across his chest. From the back seat, he swore he could hear the three heads of Sam, Tucker, and Jazz (who was still clutching Clockwork's staff) clattering together. His grip tightened on the Fenton Thermos. Clockwork _had_ to be getting motion sickness from this ride.

The traffic light Vlad had stopped at turned green and the millionaire shot forward, plastering Danny to the leather seat. Rain drops started hitting the windshield and Vlad activated his windshield wipers. As the wipers swept across the glass, they left a green smear in their wake.

"That's not rain…" Danny whispered and then screamed in terror along with everyone else as a minivan crashed to the pavement in front of them. Vlad twisted the steering wheel with lightning fast reflexes, and swerved around the smashed vehicle only to plow into a fallen billboard sign, the momentum of the car flipping it up and over the heavy sign.

Danny's head was spinning. Everything was happening so fast. He felt a cold wind, heard screams and shouts, felt his heart thumping franticly in his chest, tasted the blood trickling into his mouth from a thin cut on his cheek. Something cold grabbed his arm and he shrieked, watching the car disappear away from him.

"Shut up, Daniel, and quite squirming!" Vlad released him on the street, having pulled everyone out with his intangibility. Danny looked around at the chaos.

Tucker was shaking so badly he might have been in the Artic, Sam was stony faced with shock, and Jazz was _still_ hanging onto Clockwork's staff even though it was now snapped completely in half.

And it was raining ectoplasm.

Drops of the thick, green substance were dropping from the sky in little specks or huge globs and Danny turned his face skyward, shielding his eyes with the thermos to see what was going on.

"Oh crud…" He muttered, making everyone else follow his gaze, "Dan and Phantom are fighting…"

Dark evening clouds boiled in the background, howls of rage and fear and pain echoed down to them from above, and bright flashes of energy acted as the lightning to complete the whole effect. It was horrible to watch.

"Dan's holding back," Sam said, squinting up, not caring that her arm was splattered with ghost blood, "He doesn't want to risk destroying Phantom."

"He's losing." Vlad hissed but didn't go to the future Danny's aid.

Dan and Phantom locked hands, Dan's claws digging into Phantom's glove and causing tiny beads of ectoplasm to well up. But these injuries were nothing compared to the ones Dan was sustaining. To his credit, he was making a valiant effort not to kill Phantom and in the process was ruining his own fighting style. As a result, he was losing horribly and he knew it.

"GET AWAY!" Phantom screamed, unleashing a blast of energy from his palms that sent Dan reeling through the sky. Dan Phantom hissed, flicking his forked tongue out as he assessed his wounds. His gloves were shredded and his hands blistered and burnt from Phantom's last attack, there were already forming bruises on about every inch of his body from the pummeling he'd taken, his violet cloak was torn beyond repair, and there were bleeding gouges in his ghostly flesh. It seemed that Phantom had learned to poke holes in people. Irritated, Dan ripped off his cloak and tossed it aside, not caring who it fell on. What he needed was some help. But help wasn't going to come.

Phantom started laughing and Dan growled at him.

"Look at you! You're so intent in not killing _me_ that you're killing _yourself_!" Green energy boiled in his hands, "I hate you! I hate you and Danny and Vlad and Jazz and Tucker and—!"

"Sam?" Dan hunched over, clenching his fists, and let his energy trickle into his hands. A ruse he'd learned, "You hate Sam? You gonna kill Sam? Are you gonna kill Danny?" He snorted and sparks flew from his nostrils, "You're no better than me! Nothing but hate now! Nothing but anger and pain and revenge!"

"I'll never be _you_!" Phantom screamed, firing a hail of ecto-energy that Dan easily dodged, "I'll be better than you! I'll stop you! I'll _kill_ you!"

Dan sneered, sucked in a deep breath, and opened his mouth and fired. A wide beam of energy shot out of his mouth and hit Phantom squarely in the chest, knocking the ghost head over heels through the air. Dan shot forward before Phantom could recover, grabbed him around the neck and punched him in the stomach. Phantom gagged, spitting up green blood and raked his fingers into Dan's right eye.

Dan screamed and let go, hands flying to his face where a trickle of green blood was glowing down the side of his cheek. Phantom kicked out, catching Dan in the chest and sending the older ghost back a ways but Dan lashed out with his claws, ripping the shoulder of Phantom's jumpsuit. Phantom yelled in pain and swung out a fist coated in ectoplasm, missing by inches because Dan had ducked. Dan, his right eye squeezed shut and still oozing ectoplasm, lunged upward, grabbed Phantom's wrists, locking them together with one hand, grabbed a fistful of green-stained white hair in the other, yanking Phantom's head back, and bit down into the younger ghost's shoulder. Hard.

Phantom screamed in agony and not just because of Dan's sharp fangs sinking into his pale flesh through the exposed shoulder of his suit. Dan was shooting electrically charged ectoplasm through Phantom's body, causing the ghost to jerk and twist in his grip. But Dan did not relent.

Finally, with an exhausted and pain-filled whimper, Phantom passed out cold, smoke trailing out of his open mouth and leaking out of his ears. Ectoplasm was seeping through his black and white jumpsuit. Dan tossed the defeated ghost over his shoulder and started making a slow descent to earth again. Everyone's faces were almost exactly alike when he landed in the midst of the group: disgusted. Dan dropped the unconscious Phantom to the ground.

"Dude!? Did you kill him!?" Tucker squeaked as Dan sat cross-legged in the air and started cleaning his wounds.

"If he was dead he wouldn't be here." Vlad stated in monotone, "But now what're we going to do with him?"

"We can't go back to the mansion," Jazz looked at the broken pieces of staff in her hands, "I guess the only place left to go is Wisconsin…"

"We can't leave! Dan's got detention as Danny!" Sam pointed at the ghost and then grimaced, "That's so disgusting."

Dan, who'd been licking blood off himself with his forked tongue, smirked at her and lapped up the green ectoplasm on his lips from when he'd bitten Phantom, "If you don't like it, don't watch!"

"Cut it out, Dan." Danny muttered, "We need to get Clockwork out of the thermos, Phantom somewhere he's not going to get away, and find somewhere else to hide from the Observants."

"Why? What'd the Observants do?" Dan asked.

"They found us in Vlad's mansion." Danny responded, sounding extremely tired, "They're not just after Phantom anymore. They want you, me, and Clockwork." He looked at his two best friends and his sister, "And I think they're targeting anyone we've come into contact with too."

"They're getting a little too big for their britches, I think." Dan growled but continued to clean his out his injuries in an animalistic way.

"Our only option, it seems, is to keep moving." Vlad sighed, "I think I've aged ten years since you showed up…"

"But what about _school_!?" Tucker was scanning his PDA, "What about our _parents_!? We can't just run off without notice!" Everyone looked at him, "What?" He glanced at his PDA, "Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. That's goes against policy!"

"You hack Skulker all the time." Danny pointed out, shivering as the sky darkened and thunder rumbled over their heads. It seemed that the mock storm Dan and Phantom had been conducting had attracted a real one.

"That's different! I'm not hacking the school!"

"Just shut off the power or something for a week, Tucker, that's all we need!" Sam walked over to Danny, looping an arm around his waist. He leaned his weight on her, eyes heavy, "And, I dunno, we can let our parents think we've been kidnapped or something!"

Dan coughed something that sounded oddly like "morbid" but when Sam glared at him he went back to chewing off the burnt skin on his hands with his fangs and she quickly looked away.

"Settled.' Danny yawned, "We need a car. And stuff…" He shook himself as another rumble of thunder sounded over head, "A big car…and lots of…food…" He sagged in Sam's arms and she tried to hold him upright. The thermos clattered out of his fingers and rolled across the pavement. Vlad took Danny from Sam, Dan picked up Phantom again, and Sam took the thermos. Jazz handed the broken staff to the Goth and ran towards Fenton Works to grab the RV, the biggest vehicle with the most space. Well, it would have the most space as soon as she got all the junk cleared out of it.

Tucker quickly hacked the school's system, chewing nervously on his lip the whole time, and then under the instruction of Vlad, went and raided the nearby grocery store for supplies. Lucky for them the street was empty, everyone so terrified of the ghost fight that they'd run off.

_This mess…_ Vlad grumbled to himself, looking at the sleeping Fenton boy in his arms, _It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. And more dangerous. _

* * *

Jazz looked over her shoulder as the Fenton RV made its way down a back road that was sheltered by trees. She was in the passenger seat next to Vlad who was driving, Dan was in the next seat back with Phantom who was strapped down tightly to the seat with ectoplasm blocking bonds and kept unconscious with a strong sedative, Sam and Tucker were in the next row of seats, Tucker attempting to force the thermos open with his PDA and Sam contemplating the broken halves of Clockwork's staff, and in the very back, splayed out across the whole seat with a seatbelt twisted oddly around his middle, was the sleeping Danny Fenton. He was lying on his left side, head propped up on ZeE's laptop, snorting softly every now and then.

Everything seemed so peaceful and almost normal. Hopefully, it would really be that way soon enough.

"How's it coming, Tucker?" Sam asked, pressing the button on the top of the clock of the Time Ghost's staff repeatedly even though nothing was happening, "Anything?"

"Almost…" The techie said through his teeth, "Almost there…this thing's hard to get into."

"Well it _is_ one of Vlad's modified ones…" Sam responded. In the driver's seat, Vlad shifted uncomfortably and muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

"Ouch!" A spark of electricity jumped its way over the thermos, shocking Tucker in the process. There was a loud hammering from the inside of the container and Jazz and Dan looked around to stare at it.

"Well," Jazz said slowly, "At least we know he's okay…"

"Hmph." Dan snorted, "More than likely he's pissed." And he turned back around with a growl. His injuries weren't healing quite as quickly as he would have liked. He twitched as another round of hammering issued from inside.

Tucker pulled at the cap, grunting with the effort, but it did him little good, "It's jammed on there like a bottle cap with its threads twisted the wrong way!" He spat, pouting with the thermos in his lap.

"Nice analogy." Sam muttered, rolling her eyes, "Keep trying! We have to get Clockwork out of there!"

The Fenton RV suddenly swerved with a squeal of tires off the road and then jostled its way back onto the dirt path again. Everyone stared towards the driver's seat at Vlad who hunched his shoulders, looking extremely hostile, and gave no response to his actions. A few moments later, the first drops of rain splattered against the windshield and Danny yawned, stretching as he came into wakefulness.

"Look who's awake," Sam said with a smile, "Feeling better, Danny?"

"A little bit." The boy replied, readjusting his seatbelt so it was strapped properly across his waist and chest, "My arm and chest have been hurting a bit and I'm hungry but I think I'll live." He smiled back at Sam, "Got anything to eat?"

The Goth reached into the cooler in the space between her seat and Tucker's (who was now furiously trying to hack the thermos again), pulled out a sub and tossed it to Danny who eagerly unwrapped it and took a huge bite. Sam passed him a bottle of water as well and he took a quick swing.

"Where're we headed, Plasmius?" He called up to the front before taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Wisconsin, at the moment." Vlad responded, "I need to grab some things from my lab before we take off again. As long as we don't stay too long, the Observants will never find us."

"Any luck with that thermos, Tucker?" Danny was as anxious for news and progress as he was for food. A clap of thunder made everyone jump and the rain was suddenly coming down in sheets. Vlad flicked the windshield wipers on, sighing with relief when that was the _only_ thing that came on.

"Not really…" Tucker had his tongue between his teeth again with concentration, "Maybe I can just drop it and it'll pop open, huh?" He, Sam, and Danny laughed at the joke and Dan rolled his vivid red eyes with annoyance. There was a dark purple bruise around the edge of the right one, spotted with green specks of ectoplasm. However, the holes that Phantom had shot in him had healed over and his hands were starting to heal as well. The good thing about being all ghost was that he healed quicker than a halfa.

Danny finished off his sandwich and, after gulping down the rest of the water, loosened the cap slightly and started twisting the center of the bottle. Sam tapped Tucker on the shoulder and they both ducked, covering their heads. The water bottle cap rocketed off, shooting straight through the middle four seats, bounced off the windshield, ricocheted off the floor, and smacked the unconscious Phantom right in the middle of the forehead.

Everyone froze (expect Vlad, he just kept flicking his eyes to the review mirror) and held their breath. Phantom groaned, shifted in his bonds, and then settled back down. There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone in the RV.

"Okay, no more shooting bottle caps in the RV, Danny." Sam reached around and yanked the plastic bottle out of her friends' hands, "Someone's going to lose an eye and if it's Phantom…well I think that would hurt you more than it would hurt me!"

Danny frowned, sinking back into his seat, and crossed his arms as best he could with his right limb so bandaged up. Thunder rumbled overhead and a blaze of lightning glared across the sky. Danny's frown disappeared into a blank expression. Rain drummed against the roof of the Fenton RV. Vlad's driving slowed as leaves, dirt, rain, and pebbles were thrown against the windshield by a horrendous wind and the thunder got louder and the lightning came more frequently. Tucker glanced up at the ceiling of the vehicle, the thermos still clutched in one hand, his PDA in the other, Dan sank lower and lower in his seatbelt, and Jazz's knuckles were white from clenching on the sides of her seat.

Vlad suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing everyone to jolt forward.

"I can't drive in this." He grumbled, squinting through the thick rain outside, "We're going to have to wait this out on the side of the road."

"But the Observants…" Danny's voice cracked and he cleared his throat, "But the Observants and their guards could find us."

"Oh, they might find us," Dan sneered, unbuckling his seatbelt and standing up, "But they won't get anywhere near us." And he flew out the roof of the RV without another word.

Vlad set the RV into reverse, backed up a little in the muddy road, and swerved off, pulling as deep into the trees as he could. Then he shut the vehicle off, unbuckled his seat belt, and sank back in his seat with a heavy sigh. Jazz undid herself from her seat as well and walked to the back of the RV where Danny was undoing his own seatbelt. Sam and Tucker mimicked her; the Goth setting the two halves of Clockwork's staff gently on the floor and the techie stowing his PDA and the thermos away in his pockets.

"I think the best thing for all of us to do right now is to sleep." Jazz said, eyeing Danny who was fighting back a yawn, "Some of us need it."

A snort came from the front of the vehicle and everyone glanced at the driver's seat to see Vlad stretched out on the seat which was tilted back to its fullest extent. Tucker chuckled at the sight and then rubbed his eyes from underneath his glasses.

"I agree with Jazz," Sam put in, rolling her shoulders before tilting her own seat back, "I'm exhausted. 'Night, Danny."

"'Night, Sam…" Danny muttered in reply, kicking his legs out across the back seat as Jazz headed back up to the front and Tucker leaned his own seat back. A few minutes later, soft, steady breathing permeated the RV. Outside on the roof, Dan sighed, pulled his newly reformed cloak tighter around him, and tugged his hood farther over his face, injuries throbbing in time with the pounding rain.

* * *

Well, we've come to the end of a rather dramatic eighteenth chapter. Things are getting a little more chaotic, aren't they? Danny and company are going to be hard pressed to find a place to stop so they can put the two halves back together again. And that's only if they can find a way to put them back together at all!

Ah, the traumas of life…!

Anyway, thanks for sticking around and waiting for these horrendously long updates! Keep holding on! We're getting somewhere! Don't forget to leave me a review! Bye!


	19. Like Father to Son

**READ THE A/N AT THE END OF THIS CHAP!**

I had to do a Vlad scene. I hadn't been giving the guy enough credit and he wasn't seeing much action. And I know he can be a total jerk most of the time and he's pretty much overly possessive but, well, it's not like he doesn't _care_. He just never got the chance to…

* * *

**Nineteen: Like Father to Son**

* * *

Something cold touched Vlad's shoulder and he shot straight up in his seat to meet the dulled red eye of Dan Phantom. It took the millionaire a moment to realize that the ghost's other eye, while healing, had swollen shut. Dan looked ragged.

"You're turn, Plasmius…" Danny's future self sighed in a whisper, "I can't keep it up out there; too exhausted from my fight with Phantom. You take guard duty…"

"What!? But I—!" But it was too late, Dan had already slouched into his seat, closed his eyes, and was asleep in seconds.

Vlad's eyes flashed red and a black light swept over his body, changing him into his ghostly form. With a grunt of dissatisfaction, Plasmius rocketed through the ceiling and perched himself on the roof of the RV. It was still pouring rain and a sudden clap of thunder made him jump.

"Great…" The halfa growled, feeling the ends of his usually spiked black hair droop, sodden with water, "I'll have to leave the driving to Jasmine after this."

"Verifying: Vlad 'Plasmius' Masters, Halfa, close relations with Daniel Fenton and Danny Phantom. Capture and Detain." Vlad swiveled around and groaned. At least thirteen of the Observants' guards were hovering in the air around the side of the RV, "Verifying: Fenton Assault Vehicle. Verifying: Passengers Jasmine Fenton, Capture and Detain, Samantha Manson, Capture and Detain, Tucker Foley, Capture and Detain, Dan Phantom, Capture an—."

"Shut up!" Vlad swung out a fist coated in ectoplasm and caught the guard in the face, knocking the ghost back into the others behind him. Before they could recover, Vlad split himself into four copies, each growling and spitting rain water. Lightning flashed. Almost simultaneously, the guards pulled out long staffs that were wreathed in green electricity.

Vlad and his copies shot up into the sky, taking the enemy away from the RV and the sleeping occupants within. Then he whipped around and fired thick beams of energy at the oncoming guards, his copies mimicking the movement. Several of the guards dodged and turned invisible while the others continued straight forward. Vlad swung a leg out, catching one guard in the side and knocking him away while bringing a fist down on the head of another.

"Daniel's faster than you lot!" He snarled and then hissed as one of his copies disappeared in a puff of smoke, "Rotten luck!" And he clawed outward with one hand, charging the other with a swirl of pink ectoplasm. In a blaze of light that was countered by a flash of lightning, one of the guards disappeared in an explosion of green mist.

An electrified staff suddenly shot through the air, launched by one of the guards, and Vlad turned intangible just in time. It passed right through him, sizzling as the rain struck it, but one of his copies was not as luck and it met the same fate as the first. Vlad drew his last copy back into himself and grabbed two guards by the backs of their heads, smashing them together with such a force that their helmets collapsed and they tumbled, dazed back to earth.

Something grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides, and he cursed when he realized that one of the invisible guards had snuck up on him. Another guard advanced with a sparking staff and Vlad struggled and kicked, unable to phase through the guards arms. The end of the staff jammed into his stomach and he doubled over, screaming in agony as ecto-electricity coursed through him. His limbs jerked in a frenzy, block spots crept over his vision, and he felt like he was being burned from the inside out.

The pain stopped and Vlad felt himself falling with the rain but there he couldn't tell up from down and the black spots in his eyes were making it impossible to see. He landed on something cold and metallic with a sickening crunch and felt his breath cut short. Something wasn't right. It felt like something had snapped. With a choked groan of agony, the halfa pushed himself upright, feeling his chest and back. Everything appeared to be in working order. Then he realized there was an antenna sticking through his chest, piercing right through his right lung. Well, that was bothersome.

"Verifying: Vlad 'Plasmius' Masters. Current State, extremely injured, no longer a threat. Continue on to detainment." The remaining guards had formed a circle around him, starring with blank, glowing eyes. A rumble of thunder drowned out their next words as a flash of lightning sparkled off their armor, "—trial by Observant Court. Laws of the Ghost Zone state that you must attended said trial or face—."

"The Ghost Zone has no laws!" Vlad shouted, yanking the antenna out with a cry of agony and firing a shivering beam of ectoplasm at the talking guard so that it reeled backwards. Then he gasped, sinking back against the roof of the RV where he'd landed, hand over his chest which was slowly being stained with green blood, "Curse…this…I can't…I can't…" He fought to draw in a wheezing breath, struggling to maintain his ghost form. If he reverted back now, he'd surely die.

The guards moved closer and Vlad grinned, raising the hand that had been over the hole in his chest and setting off an explosion of ectoplasm so bright it seemed like the sun had risen with a pink hue for the smallest fraction of a second. Vlad rubbed his eyes as he sat up and flexed his fingers. He'd been working on that attack for quite a while and it gladdened him to see that it had done its job. A haze of green hung in the air around the RV but it was quickly being washed away by the still falling rain.

The halfa peered down at the hole in his chest. Or rather, where the hole had been. Vlad's healing abilities had increased greatly over time. He paused for a moment, wondering why Dan's abilities had not increased in the same way. Then again, Dan had been stuck inside a metal can for almost three years so it seemed to reason that he wouldn't have gotten that much stronger.

Pushing his sopping and no longer spiked hair from his face, the halfa crossed his legs, cracked his neck, and settled back, on the roof of the RV. His sharp ears caught the sound of the door opening and closing below him and he leaned forward to meet the dulled, pale blue eyes of Danny. The boy had dug up a hooded jacket from the back of the RV that had probably once been his dad's; the sleeves were rolled up several times and still almost trailed to the ground, the bottom of the jacket nearly reached his ankles, and the only reason the hood wasn't completely obscuring his face was because he was holding it.

"What do you want, Daniel?"

"I heard you screaming." The boy replied cheekily, pushing Plasmius' buttons, "Observants getting the better of you or just reliving college years?"

"Glad to see your witty banter has returned." Vlad replied dryly, dropping to the ground, "But shouldn't you be asleep?"

Danny's expression was immediately blank, "I don't sleep much anymore. Nightmares. They've sort of let up since I came to terms with the fact I could d-die if I don't become Danny Phantom again but they're still terrifying."

There was silence between the two. The rain didn't seem to be letting up but the thunder and lightning were distant now. Danny scuffed his sneaker in the mushy mix of dead leaves, grass, mud, and rain water.

"Remember…remember when I was in the Inbetween?" He asked suddenly and Plasmius nodded, "Well, remember how I asked you if you were afraid you were never going to wake up?" Another nod, this one slow, wondering where the boy was taking this, "You never answered me."

Vlad sighed, "I don't think about the what if's, Daniel. If I want something, I'll do whatever it takes to obtain it."

"So I've noticed." Danny muttered, pushing his hood back as the rain soaking into the fabric made it heavier.

"When I end up in the Inbetween," The older halfa continued as though he hadn't heard, "I concentrate on what drives me to stay alive at all. What I live for. What ca—want." Vlad turned his red eyes on Danny, "What do _you_ want Daniel?"

"I…um…I…I want…I want things to go back to the way they were." Danny confessed in a hushed voice, "I want them to be normal, well, as normal as they were. The normal that it was before Zodiac."

"Then make it so you ungrateful child." Vlad stated flatly and turned invisible to float over the top of the RV before Danny could get another word in. With a grunt of dissatisfaction, the Fenton boy hopped back into the vehicle and pushed the hood back, casting his weary, blue eyes around the sleeping occupants.

Jazz at the front curled animal-like in her seat, head propped on the arm rest, completely still and silent, Dan Phantom with his head tossed back and legs stretched out so that his ankles were crossed on the head rest of the driver's seat in front of him, Phantom, though technically not asleep, looking harmless slumped in his bonds, Tucker, scrunched into a tiny ball in his seat with his fingers wrapped protectively around his precious PDA, and Sam, his, dear, dear Sam, with her head on one arm rest and her knees draped over the other, arms folded over her stomach. Danny stared at her for a long time.

What if he had never walked into the Fenton Ghost portal?

He'd considered that so many times. What if he'd just flat out told Sam he didn't want to? Would the ghost problem in Amity Park have gotten worse or would it have been better without a Danny Phantom for the ghosts to hold a vendetta to?

"Everything is as it should be…" The voice was so faint, so muffled that Danny wasn't sure he'd even heard it, "Well, _this_ is _not_ how it should be!"

"Clockwork?" Danny crouched down on the floor of the RV and peered under Tucker's seat, "Way to go Tucker, drop the thermos under the seat!" He reached under and tugged the bruised Fenton Thermos out from under the seat.

"Danny?" The muffled voice came again and there was a number of loud hammerings, "Get me out of here!"

"Phantom smashed the controls," Danny said as he plopped into the seat in the back of the RV, drawing his knees up to his chin and holding the thermos to his chest, "Tucker's been trying to hack it but we can't get it open." Silence was his answer, "Clockwork, I…I came to my senses, okay, and I just wanted you to know that I…I'm really sorry for the crap I've been giving you all these years, even though I know you were trying to help."

"Unforeseen events, Danny, that got completely out of hand." Came the faint answer from inside the device, "But we can solve this."

"I'm waiting for you to say "I think"."

"Hmph, not likely. I may be neutral in my views but I am _not_ quite the pessimist that the Observants are."

"Right. Look, we can try some more in the morning. Or we can have Vlad try, I think Jazz is going to drive. Right now, I need to sleep." Danny dropped back onto the seat, stretched his legs out so they touched the other side of the vehicle, and closed his eyes, tucking the thermos between his bandaged right arm and his chest. Within seconds, he was softly snoring away.

* * *

Oh my gosh! Where has this _been_!? Ugh, seriously, I'm falling behind on my work and I'm _really_ sorry about it! I bet you wonderful peoples have stopped reading this because you've figured I'm not going to update. I'm _really_ sorry!

Aaaaannnyyyway, I've got a super awesome idea! If you guys leave me enough reviews, let's say if I hit twenty by chapter twenty one maybe, I'll slip in something extra special! Like…a little bit of the sequel to Melody in Black. That's right! It's not the end! I can't let it be the end! So If I get twenty reviews at least by chapter twenty one, a reasonable request, I think, then I'll give you guys all a sneak preview!

Thanks for reading, please leave me a review, and good-bye!


	20. A Moments Reprieve

Remember what I said at the end of chapter nineteen? It still holds true! I'll be checking my e-mail and fiction stats soon and we'll see what's been going on…!

By the way, I just want to say thank you to everyone who's stuck it out through this whole mess. I know I don't update as much as I probably could but it's my senior year of high school and I've got more work on my plate then I thought I would. So…well, thanks to all those readers who are sticking with me, it really means a lot. And even those of you who have just found this or haven't left a review, thank you too. You guys all rock.

* * *

**Twenty: A Moments Reprieve**

* * *

Danny eased himself into wakefulness at what he assumed with the next morning. The RV was vibrating beneath him, bouncing up and down on the road, and the vehicle was filled with light which was probably from the sunlight streaming in through the windows. With a very loud yawn he announced his vigilance to the rest of the passengers and swung himself into a sitting position.

"Afternoon, Lord of Snores," Sam handed the Fenton boy a box filled with six French toast sticks and a thing of syrup, "You missed breakfast at the gas station and now it's cold. Tough luck."

"Thanks for the news flash, Lady of Darkness," Danny retorted a little irritably, cranky, stiff, and sore, "Where's the thermos?"

"With Vlad in the front seat," Tucker replied, "He woke up a little before you did when Jazz hit a giant pot hole." Danny's blue eyes flashed up to the review mirror briefly and saw his sister scowl at the remark, "Dan's still out of it." The techie jerked a thumb at Danny's future self.

Dan Phantom looked like crap. Even if he was better from last night, he still looked like he should be laying down somewhere other than a jumbling RV. At least he was breathing, that much was okay. Danny turned his gaze away and instead looked at Phantom.

Neon green locked with brilliant blue.

Danny let out a yelp, jumped at least a foot in the air, and scrambled into a scrunched up position in his seat, breathing quickly. Phantom never took his eyes off the Fenton boy. But his expression wasn't angry or filled with the fear and hatred he'd had in the mansion back at Amity Park…it was sad.

"Danny," That single word made silence fall, thick as wet snow in December, upon the occupants. Dan even cracked an eye open. Phantom swallowed, "Danny, this really hurts…you shot me…it hurt…I know it hurt you too…" He took a deep breath, "Darn it all, this is so stupid! Why did we ever get ourselves into this…this…this stupid situation!? Where did we go wrong, Danny!? What did we do that caused this!? I hate this! I hate it!"

"Easy." Dan muttered.

Danny reached up and pushed his bangs from his face, "I know," He muttered dully, an ache building in his chest, "But Sam and Tucker were right," He grinned at them and was happy to see that they rewarded him with a smile in return, "It wasn't our fault. None of it. We shouldn't have been emo-idiots." His grin widened, "Teen-angst does not suit us."

"How ungainly for a hero." Sam nodded and the four teens laughed. Dan closed his eye again and faded back into sleep.

"Hey Vlad, how's that thermos coming?" Danny called up to the front as he clicked a seatbelt on, ripped the top off the container of syrup, and started dunking his brunch in it.

"Very badly!" The man replied hotly. Danny couldn't see him from where he was sitting but from the tones of his voice, the boy figured he should leave the older halfa alone.

"So, almost everything's been sorted out," Tucker stated, scrolling down a list on his PDA, "Except for one thing."

"And what's that?" Sam, Fenton, and Phantom asked all at the same time.

"How we're going to put Fenton and Phantom back together again." Tucker replied, tapping his finger on the screen, "I mean, I've been thinking about it since I woke up and I don't think we could just toss you two through the ghost-catcher thingy to fix you up."

"It's far more complicated than that," Came Vlad's voice from the front again, "But I think I know how to Daniel back together again."

"So _that's_ why you practically flew off the road the other day!" Jazz said with a hint of realization.

"Yes, it was…" Vlad growled back and Jazz subsided, focusing back on the road, "As I was saying, I have an idea of how to solve our little _issue_. We need to steal the Observants' technology."

Danny spilled the rest of his syrup onto his already dirt and blood stained jeans.

"Are you out of you're _mind_!?" Phantom shouted, pushing against his seatbelt with agitation, "_Steal_ the _Observants'_ technology!? Have you forgotten that they're probably trying to _kill_ us!?"

"No, Phantom, I'd forgotten that little detail!" Vlad snapped back, "Of _course_ I know they're after us but time is running out and it's the only thing we've got! If you don't like it, fine! Just don't come crying to me when you fall apart!"

There was a loud clang and an eruption of blue light from the front seat causing Jazz to swerve wildly for a moment and jerk everyone around. French toast sticks scattered across the floor.

"Well, it's about _time_!" Clockwork snorted, arching his back so that it popped, "That feels much better." Red eyes blazed at Phantom, "I'm going to hold you in resentment for that for a while, Phantom."

Phantom smiled sheepishly, "I know."

"Where's my staff?" The old man formed Time Ghost glanced around for it and that groaned as he caught sight of it laying in two pieces in Sam's hands, "Why me?" He growled and took the pieces from her, "Why does it have to be me?"

"It's not always you…" Danny muttered, trying to wipe the syrup off his pants and only succeeding getting bits of napkin stuck to his clothes and irritatingly sticky fingers.

Clockwork made an odd scoffing noise and clasped his hands around the break in his staff, holding the two ends together. There was a swirl of energy and he let the staff go, tossing it to his right hand and floating back to sit by Danny. Danny shivered at the cold waves rolling of the ghost.

"Clockwork, I have an idea," Vlad said in a much calmer voice, "On how to get Fenton and Phantom back together. If I can get at least one of those containment units the Observants used to pull them apart, I may be able to copy it and reverse the effects."

"That's quite a big "if", Plasmius." Clockwork murmured, chewing on his lip with the buck-teeth that came with his toddler form, "But it's the only "if" we've got right now."

"Well before we elaborate on the plan of this "if"," Danny grumbled, "I want a shower and some clean clothes!"

"You're in luck, Little Brother!" Jazz's mood was enlightened with the news they could put her brother back together again, "We're almost to Vlad's place!"

* * *

Danny threw his sticky, dirt encrusted, and blood and ectoplasm stained clothes in a pile on the tile floor on top of his filthy bandages. His horrid right arm dangled at his side. He looked at the damage in the mirror, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach as he looked. It hurt to breath and it hurt to move his arm. The pain that came with his DNA tearing apart was the worst thing that had ever happened to him; it had hurt more than being half killed by the ghost portal.

Steam started rising over the top of the shower curtain and Danny tentatively stepped beneath the steaming water, wincing as it ripped upon his injuries. He glanced down at the bottom of the shower and saw trails of brownish-redish-green swirling around the drain. Oh yeah, this shower was much needed. Someone knocked on the door and Danny jumped, yanking on a handful of black hair.

"Y-yeah?"

"Danny, it's Tucker! I got some clothes for you!"

"Uh…just set them on the counter!" Danny was glad that the shower curtain was a thick, green and yellow material. He heard the bathroom door click open and shut again, footsteps on the floor and then the soft _whump_ of clothing hitting the counter.

"Hey…Danny," Tucker sounded tentative.

"What?"

"If you'd gotten home…just a little bit later that day Amethyst and her dad came out of the Ghost Portal…do you think we'd still be here doing this?"

"No…" Danny responded truthfully, "I've asked Clockwork over and over again to send me back in time or rewind time or something, _anything_, to stop all the crap that happened but he wouldn't do it. He told me I was being selfish and it would ruin the time stream and that it was good for me to understand that the world wasn't as black and white as I wanted it to be."

"Dude, that's deep stuff." Tucker muttered, "And you'd better get out soon 'cause Jazz is almost done with supper."

"Get out of here!" Danny shouted back, punching the shower curtain and spraying water everywhere. He heard laughter and then the door opening and closing again. The only sound came from the water hitting his flesh and the sides of the shower.

_Why does it feel like it's raining?_ He wondered, _Why does it always feel like the world's just laughing at you and waiting for you to screw up? _Danny reached out and turned the water off, watching the rest of the water trickle away down the drain. Things were hard, life was hard; and it was harder for him than any normal teenager. He was making it hard on his friends and family too.

"Then again, everyone else makes it hard for me…!" He grumbled, snatching his towel from the floor as he stepped out of the shower. As soon as he'd dried himself off, Danny picked through the clothes Tucker had brought him, no doubt provided by Vlad, and wasn't exactly ecstatic with what he saw. Still, it was better than walking around in his filthy clothes that were almost three days old. Danny cringed; gross.

A few minutes later found the Fenton boy shuffling self consciously into the smallest dining room in Vlad's Wisconsin mansion. He was wearing a long sleeved, cream colored shirt with a tight black jacket over it that showed off his slim yet wiry frame, a pair of jean-mimicking black pants, white socks, but held onto his scruffy tennis shoes. There was no way he was giving those up for the stiff black dress shoes Vlad was trying to throw at him. With an evident frown on his face, Danny plopped into a high backed chair and crossed his arms sullenly over his chest.

Tucker was already at the table with his PDA in his hands and his knees propped against the table. It seemed he'd opted for changing as well, seeing as his usual outfit was stained with ectoplasm. The techie was now dressed in a button up, dark green shirt, a hooded, blue jacket thrown over the back of his chair, blue jeans, and his tennis shoes. Danny scowled. How was it that Vlad had found jeans for Tucker but not for the Fenton boy?

"You look a whole lot better now that you've had a shower!" Sam swung into the room from the direction of the kitchen with an armful of plates, "But no less grumpy!" She smiled at him and set the plates down on the table, taking a seat on his left. Her own, ecto-stained clothes had been discarded as well and she was now sporting a black turtle neck that was a shade too big for her, a pair of black pants similar to Danny's, and her familiar combat boots.

"Where're the ghosts?" Danny asked, kicking his feet back and putting his left hand behind his head. His right arm lay across his chest and he ignored the throbbing pain pulsating there.

"Vlad's in his lab setting things up so we can put you and Phantom back together again," Tucker explained, "And I think Phantom's down there with him. And so is Clockwork. They're watching the Ghost Portal to make sure nothing comes out."

"And Dan?" Danny asked hesitantly. He still hated his future self for the trauma Dan had put them all through.

"Well, last time I saw him he was patrolling around the outside of the mansion, on the inside of the ghost shield Vlad threw up." Tucker said, "But when I looked outside a few minutes ago, he wasn't there."

"Clockwork sent him into the Ghost Zone," Sam supplied, "Dan's going to try and steal one of those containment things the Observants used."

Danny's face paled dramatically, "I dunno what's going to be scarier…Dan going head to head with the Observants…or the fact the Dan's actually willing to _helping_!"

"That's a good point…" Tucker and Sam said at the same time.

* * *

Oh geez, I _know_! It turned out to filler and I'm _sorry_! But you can bet on some drama in the next one! Dan's going into the Observants' lair for one of their containment units and it's probably not going to be pretty! Hoo-rah!

On the other hand, I checked my e-mail and found I had no alerts for a review left on MIB. But, hey, if you guys don't want a sneak preview that's fine with me. We'll just pretend I never said anything. Just remember that if you do want to see a sneak preview, you have until I post the next chapter to hit twenty reviews (really, that's not asking much) or this deal goes bye-bye!

So thanks for reading and please review!


	21. Breaking and Entering

So here we are at chapter twenty-one. You people still rule for reading this and leaving me so many reviews! Without you guys, there wouldn't even _be_ a Melody in Black!

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**Twenty-One: Breaking and Entering**

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Dan thought about how easy it would be to sneak back into Clockwork's lair, reset one of those stupid screens, and fly back to his own time. But then, if he went back to his own time and Danny died, would he vanish too? Dan gave a mental shrug as he dropped down to one of the lower levels of the Ghost Zone and perched himself on one of the cracked and tilting gravestones. There were still several bruises dotting his body but at least his eye wasn't swollen shut anymore.

The future version of Danny that would have been had left Vlad's mansion about fifteen minutes ago and had been flying non-stop through the Ghost Zone on a crash course to the Observants' lair. In his own time, he'd tried to wipe them out but two or three of them always managed to sneak away and hide somewhere else. This time, they weren't expecting him to take the initiative. Dan peered up through the dead branches of trees, or ghosts of trees since it was the Ghost Zone, at the strange expanse of green spectral energy swirling through the nothingness of the Ghost Zone.

_Better get a move on…_ Dan hefted himself to his feet and paused in the air, his violet cloak swirling around his ankles. Perhaps a disguise would be more appropriate; Clockwork had told him to treat the mission with the utmost secrecy and stealth possible. Alright, so, _told_ really wasn't the word to use; order was more like it.

Dan concentrated and a cold, white light swirled over his spectral body. Dan admired his new form with a sneer. He couldn't vary away too much from Danny's fourteen year old form when he changed but he could alter it so that no one would think it was the Fenton boy. His hair was a golden blonde and stretched a little longer than normal, the eyes were more gray than blue, and the usual T-shirt and jeans were replaced by a long black trench coat, tight black jeans, and no shirt so that a couple of dog tags clattered coldly against his bare chest. Dan let out a low chuckle; it was more than fun to ruin the image of his younger self.

The newly transformed Dan took a spiral into the air and shot off towards the Observants' lair again. It didn't take him long to see it looming on the horizon; he'd been closer than he first thought. Time for some stealth.

Dan flicked on his invisibility and hovered closer and closer, on the lookout for any wandering guards or observing Observants. Seeing no one, he dropped down onto the giant telescope that projected from the building, shimmying down it until he could squeeze through the gap between it and the ceiling. The Observants really needed to do something about that.

The future ghost dropped silently to the floor, invisible eyes narrowed as he scanned the domed room. A few bored looking guards and that was it. Dan trailed silently over the carpet, dog tags clinking around like tiny little bells. The guards looked around in confusion, unaware of where the noise was coming from. There were two kinds of Observant guards; the first was the kind with the personality, ideal for guarding doors and such because they were far more responsive, and the second was the kind that the Observants sent out to capture ghosts and sometimes humans. These goons were definitely the first kind.

Dan grabbed them both by the back of the head and smashed their helmets together and dropping them to the floor, stabbing his hands into them and tearing them apart. Ectoplasm went everywhere. Dan grinned at the mess he'd made, wiped his hands on his pants, and trailed through the now unguarded door. He now stood in a long hallway of white marble. Frowning, the ghost dug into his memory, trying to remember exactly where the Observants stored their containment units.

An Observant floated down the hall and Dan stiffened, shooting up to hover against the ceiling. But he'd forgotten about the dog tags. The Observant froze in the hall and turned his head (eye?) upwards, giant pupil swiveling around to find the source of the clinking. Dan had already clasped a hand over them to stop them from ringing out his position anymore but it was too late. The Observants were smarter than their guards and now they knew someone was in their lair who wasn't supposed to be.

Dan regained visibility suddenly and dropped down on the Observant so fast it knocked the other ghost out. Growling and forming spinning spheres of ectoplasm in his hands, Dan rocketed down the hall, barreling through several ranks of guards and singing the robe of one Observant with a blast of ecto-energy. Dan whipped around a corner, felt something catch on his neck, and choked, bucking to get away from whatever it was that had a strangle hold on him.

"You are disrupting the order of the Ghost Zone!" Snapped the Observant that had the chain to Dan's dog tags twisted in his hand, "You shall be aptly punished!"

"I…I…d-don't…th…think…s-so!" Dan wheezed and snapped the chain on the dog tags, falling head over heels through the air and leaving the Observant with nothing but the necklace, "Oh, here, have a gift." Dan flicked his fingers and vanished down a hallway.

The dogs tags started glowing neon green and before the Observant could process what was happening, they had exploded.

Cracks etched their way up the walls as dust rained down on Dan's head. He shook himself, sending another shower of dust cascading from his golden locks, and snuck around another corner. A fang-toothed grin etched itself onto his face.

"Now _this_ looks familiar!" The ghost chortled, "Those idiot Observants are too egotistical to even _think_ that someone would break into their lair!" Dan charged a sphere of ecto-energy in his hand and tossed it casually at the steel door before him. The explosion rocked the lair and clouded the corridors with dust and debris. The Observants' formally neat and tidy lair was now in a disorderly mess of chaos. Dan didn't care. He had finally found what he wanted.

A heavy steel door smashed into the wall opposite where it had been, leaving cracks that spread almost all the way up to the ceiling. Inside the dark room the door had guarded was a screech of claws on glass, a yell of triumph, and then Dan emerged from the smoke with one of the containment units over his shoulder.

"Aw, come _on_, you've gotta be kidding me!" At least four rows of the Observants' guards blocked the disguised ghost from exiting the room, "Oh well, Clocky never said this was going to be easy…!"

He set the containment unit on the floor, pushed his blonde hair from his face, grabbed the end of the device again, and swung it around with a wild cry. Half of the first row of guards went down, their armor dented and caved.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!" Dan screamed, holding up his hand to form a huge sphere of energy, "OR PERISH!!" Streamers of green light erupted upwards towards the ceiling and then arched down to rain upon the scattering guards.

"You are disrupting the order of the Ghost Zone!" A voice hollered and Dan dodged out of the way, toting the containment unit with him, as an anti-ghost net shot down and snapped closed over the floor where he had been moments before.

"Shut up!" Dan screamed at the Observant floating near the ceiling as he dodged further down the hall, "The Ghost Zone _has_ no order! It is a place of _dis_order and chaos! Why do you think ghosts thrive here!?"

"Silence, _Dan Phantom_!" The Observant snarled, pulling another anti-ghost net out of thin air, "The Ghost Zone _will_ have order! The order that it had when The Ancients ruled!" The Observant spun the net around and let it fly, "Know your place!"

Dan swore loudly, let his disguise drop, and somersaulted backwards still hauling the containment unit around. Then he braced his legs, faced the oncoming guards and Observants, sucked in giant breath, and let out one of his largest Ghostly Wails since he'd torn down the barrier around the future Amity Park.

The Observants' lair was rocked to its core and by the time the ghosts within it had gotten their bearings back, Dan Phantom had vanished.

* * *

Danny was asleep.

For the first time in a long time.

Sam knelt over him and pulled a blanket up to his shoulders with a sigh and shake of her head. Of course he'd fall asleep on the couch, what sort of silly logic possessed her to think that he'd take the effort to find a bed?

Phantom, on the other hand, was wide awake. He was all ghost and didn't need as much sleep as humans, but that didn't stop him from looking terrible. His right arm was draped uselessly over the armrest of the chair he was curled in, his green eyes were wide and glazed, and there were dark lines under his eyes, darker than usual.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked him from across the room.

"Mm-hm…" He replied softly, not blinking.

"You look terrible."

"I know…"

"I think you should get some sleep."

"Can't…" Phantom blinked and focused on the Goth girl, "I can't sleep. I keep having nightmares and it's killing me!" He shuddered and tugged at the left shoulder of his outfit. Sam frowned.

"It's like babysitting a couple of six year old twins." She mumbled, pulling another blanket out of the nearby closet and throwing it over Phantom's shoulder, "Only you two are each one half of my boyfriend."

Phantom's cheeks turned pink.

* * *

"Hey, Plasmius! I got your stupid machine!" Dan slammed the containment unit on the floor with a snarl.

"Hmph," Vlad snorted, turning away from a control panel he'd set up, "Why don't you make yourself useful, then, and stick it in there?" He pointed to a metal stand on the floor. Dan hissed at him, flicking out his forked tongue, but dropped the containment unit into place anyway. A low chuckle came from behind him and the future Danny whirled around to see Clockwork hovering in the air with a knowing smile on his face.

"Thanks for being so helpful, you good-for-nothing Time Ghost!" Dan snapped, stomping up to Clockwork, "What gives you the right to sit around here while I work my butt off!?"

"To make everything as it should be." Clockwork replied with an even bigger smile.

* * *

Sorry, my friends, no sneak preview for you. You were close but not quite close enough. Try again next time!

…………………

Okay, I'm just too obvious, aren't I? I'm such a sucker! Because you guys actually take the time to review and keep reading this even though I don't update very often I think you've earned the rights to this secret ending. That's right…just keep scrolling down and you'll find the awesomeness of the second half of Melody in Black.

Melody in Red was only the beginning…

* * *

**SNEAK PREVIEW**

**Melody in Black: Esprit de Corps II **

Now that the moment was here I wasn't so sure of myself but it was Tucker's reassuring presence and Clockwork's words that made me take the initiative, "Mom, Dad, you love me…no matter what, right?" I asked shakily.

"Of course, Danny!" Dad answered in his usual boisterous manner.

"You're our son." Mom replied.

"Th-then you swear you won't…you won't hate me for…anything?" The words were getting stuck in my throat and it was taking a lot to push them out, "You wouldn't…hurt me at all?"

"Danny, what's wrong?" My mother's brow was knitted with worry and she made to move towards me but I took a step back. I wasn't finished yet.

"I've…"

"_You're tastes have not changed since you arrived here…"_

"I've been keeping a secret from you guys." My voice was starting to shake and I had to force it steady.

"_It's time for you to go back and pick up where you left off. You know what you have to do."_

"I'm…I'm…"

"_Well, it's like you say: 'Everything is as it should be'." _

"I'm the Ghost Kid. I'm Danny Phantom."

**End of Sneak Preview**

* * *

Whoooo! How do you like them snickerdoodles!? Never thought I'd write a fiction where he actually _told_ his parents! And, yes, MIB 2 is in First POV and for very good reason. You guys are lucky I'm so nice, I haven't even told my friends what the second MIB is about. Mwahahaha!

Leave me a review! Tell me what you thought! The first Melody in Black is almost at a close and that's when you'll find out how Melody in Red started all of this…!


	22. The Value of Life

Well _that_ was a bit of a disappointment. Then again, I guess that "sneak preview" didn't reveal much at all, did it? Well, I thought it sounded dramatic. So, anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

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**Twenty-Two: The Value of Life

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**

"What did you _do_ to this!?" Vlad snarled, examining the extent of the damage on the containment unit, "Throw it at a wall!?"

"How about a wall of Observant guards!?" Dan snapped back, turning away from Clockwork who still wore a smug expression, "Next time you get the bright idea to steal something from the Observants, _you_ go in there and do it, _Plasmius_!"

"Like you could make me…" Vlad hissed under his breath, irritated, "I am _sick_ of having to tote all of you around. What a nuisance!"

"It'll be over soon, Vlad." Clockwork chortled, "As soon as you get those containment units fixed up and ready to put Fenton and Phantom back together again."

"And then _I_ can go back to my own time!" Dan stated triumphantly.

Silence followed these words and the ghost from the future made a growling noise. Even he knew that his words had not held the conviction they once had. Something had definitely changed. With another feral snarl, this one louder, Dan floated out of the room and into the living room where Fenton, Phantom, and now Sam were currently sleeping. There was a nasty taste in his mouth as he sat down in a chair in the corner and stared at them with unblinking red eyes.

Clockwork _knew_.

Dan didn't understand completely what was going through his head at the moment but he was certain that Clockwork knew exactly what he, Dan, was feeling. Conflicting thoughts chased themselves around his mind. Watching Danny's trauma through the past couple of days made Dan suddenly aware of his own feelings and brought a very interesting question to light:

Why was he having a sudden change of heart?

The strain of staying awake and using so much of his power started taking its toll on the older ghost. His head started drooping down so his chin was touching his chest and his eyes closed ever so slowly. In minutes, the room had four sleeping occupants, all breathing softly and peacefully.

Danny felt his nose twitch in the midst of his half-sleep and tried to fight back the wakefulness. He sneezed and fell off the couch onto the floor, getting tangled in the blanket as he did so. A yelp of pain escaped his lips as he fell onto his ruined right arm. Someone across the room gave a snort and Danny shivered as he looked towards the source of the noise.

Dan was sleeping in a chair in the corner with a full view of the whole room.

Shaking himself but not quite ready to get up off the floor, Danny looked around and found Phantom curled in a chair with a blanket tucked around him and Sam stretched out on the love seat not far away. Danny smiled to himself as he watched her.

There was no denying it…he loved her.

Every thought was driven from his head as pain lanced up his legs and made him scream.

Across the room, Phantom was writhing on the floor as well.

Their shrieks echoed one another like a chorus of agony.

Dan jolted out of his dreamless sleep and blinked a couple of times to process what was going on.

_Their DNA's breaking down again, you idiot!_ A voice in his head screamed as he stared at Fenton and Phantom scream in pain on the floor, _Don't just sit there! _Do_ something! Get Clockwork!_

Dan leapt to his feet, jumped over the two boys on the carpet, and shook Sam awake, "Watch them! I'm getting Clockwork!" And he vanished through the floor into the lab, "Clockwork!" The urgency in his voice made the Ghost of Time look up quickly, "Their DNA's breaking down again! I think it's worse this time!"

"Get them down here!" Vlad screamed from behind the containment unit before Clockwork could get a word in, "It's the best place for them to be!"

Dan nodded shortly and was back in the living room in seconds. Tucker and Jazz were now there as well, trying to hold the two boys down as they thrashed and screamed. Dan shoved them aside, scooped up Fenton under one arm and Phantom in the other and dropped back to the floor. Sam scowled at the place where he'd vanished and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time down to the lab.

It still took her ten minutes to get there and when she did, Fenton and Phantom were both unconscious on the floor with their shoes, socks, and pants off. Sam thought she was going to cry. The skin on the two boys' legs was exactly like that of their right arms and chest. Mutilated.

"It's speeding up…" Clockwork said hoarsely, leaning over to check the damage, "As soon as they wake up they need to go into those units. Another attack like this one…" He let the sentence dangle unnecessarily and Jazz shuddered, rubbing the tears from her eyes. There was a part of her that wished her mother and father were here just because she needed the comfort of family.

It made her wonder if Danny was ever going to tell them…

Phantom cracked his eyes open with a groan that was copied by Fenton. Both of them sat up and simultaneously rubbed their foreheads. But they could go no farther than that as their DNA breaking down had ruined their legs. Danny swallowed the thick bile rising in his throat.

"Vlad…" Phantom murmured, "Please tell me you're almost finished…"

"No." The millionaire grumbled, "The mechanics of these devices are more complex than I thought. The soonest I can have these down is probably in two days."

"T-two days!?" Tucker yelled, "By that time they'll be _dead_!"

"Then help me, Foley!" Vlad snarled, eyes flashing red for a brief instant and Tucker gave a visible shudder. But he crouched down beside the man and proceeded to assist him.

Danny glanced around the lab and saw Sam and Jazz talking in soft voices not far away. The look on Sam's face made him ache so he looked away and caught sight of Dan and Clockwork hissing at one another.

"Then _you_ tell _me_ what it feels like." Clockwork said in an insisting sort of tone.

"I don't _know_!" Dan hissed back hotly, "It's different but not…unfamiliar."

"Then it's _not_ my problem." Clockwork replied in a sort of triumphant voice and turned away. Dan frowned at him but didn't do anything to try and get the Time Ghost's attention again.

"Hey…Dan," Danny whispered and his future self turned expressionless red eyes on him, "Could you…um…help me up?"

Dan paused for a moment before sweeping down and hauling Danny into his arms and walking to a quiet corner of the room. Danny struggled, suddenly terrified he was going to end up the same way Dan's human half had.

"I'm sorry." Dan said in a hoarse whisper as he set the teenager down, propped against the wall, and slid down beside him. Danny stared at him but Dan only looked at the stainless steel floor, "I know you hate my guts, I know you'd rather be anywhere else then sitting here talking to me, and I know that you'd just love to destroy me right now."

"You tried to kill my family and my friends," Danny said coldly, "I have every reason in the world to hate you."

"I know that!" Dan's voice cracked and he cleared his throat before continuing, "But I was wrong! All of it was wrong!"

"I don't get what you're saying; what was wrong?"

"All of it! Yes, I hurt! I knew that!" Dan's voice was shaking now and his red eyes were brimming with glowing green tears, "It hurt so badly! I wanted it to stop but I went about the wrong way! It wasn't Vlad's fault! It wasn't the world! It was _me_! Stupid, arrogant, self-righteous _me_!" He slammed a fist into the floor and left a dent there.

"Dan…" Danny whispered but his future self didn't seem to hear him.

"And then I had to go and be stupid again! I thought more power would make it all stop so I stole Plasmius from Vlad but the hatred…all that hate and anger and lust for revenge just…_consumed _me!" Dan buried his face in his clawed hands and Danny just kept staring at him. This was so…so _un-Dan-like_ that it was starting to scare him. But then, what if this was the truth. Dan had been human once, a long time ago, and maybe, just maybe, some of that still lingered.

"Dan, um, I don't…know what…you're trying to…what do you want?"

Dan slowly lifted his face from his hands and turned his swollen reds eyes on his younger self, "No one's asked me that in almost thirteen years, Danny…" The ghost looked away to where Sam was still talking to Jazz. Both of them were smiling at some secret joke, "But what I want…can't ever happen. I really wish that _none_ of it had ever happened. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. What if I _hadn't _cheated on the CAT? Then that stupid ghost wouldn't have attacked and I wouldn't have caused the Nasty Burger to explode…and kill them all…"

"Come on…" Danny put a tentative hand on his future self's shoulder and felt the numbing coldness spread down his limb, "This isn't the time or place to talk about this sort of thing. We can sort it out after I don't have to worry about my DNA falling apart, huh?"

Dan chose not to answer, whether because he didn't want or didn't trust himself to Danny wasn't sure. The older ghost picked Danny up again and started moving back to where Phantom was still sitting, looking around in curiosity, wondering where his human half had vanished to.

Danny suddenly became very quick friends with the floor.

"Ow! Dan! What the _heck_!? You dropped…me…" Danny's snarling retorts faded on his lips as he stared at Dan.

Something was wrong.

Oh no! Corny cliff hanger _and_ a filler! Oh my gosh, no! What have I done!? Well, anyway, Danny's getting closer and closer to falling apart completely and unless Vlad and Tucker finish that second containment unit up soon there won't be a Danny to put back together.

But that point has suddenly been sold to the second hand store and now everyone's focused on Dan? What's up with our favorite future self?

You'll just have to wait and find out in the next chapter! Aaaannnnnndddd, cue evil laughter!

………….

Maybe not…


	23. Dan Phantom and Danny Fenton

We're very near the end, I think. And yet, something else comes to light: will Vlad's plan even work? (I suggest listening to the flute version of "Fallen Leaves" from "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" while reading the first part of this.

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**Twenty-Three: Dan Phantom and Danny Fenton

* * *

  
**

"Come on…" Danny put a tentative hand on his future self's shoulder and felt the numbing coldness spread down his limb, "This isn't the time or place to talk about this sort of thing. We can sort it out after I don't have to worry about my DNA falling apart, huh?"

Dan chose not to answer, whether because he didn't want or didn't trust himself to Danny wasn't sure. The older ghost picked Danny up again and started moving back to where Phantom was still sitting, looking around in curiosity, wondering where his human half had vanished to.

Danny suddenly became very quick friends with the floor.

"Ow! Dan! What the _heck_!? You dropped…me…" Danny's snarling retorts faded on his lips as he stared at Dan.

Something was wrong.

Dan's red eyes had glazed over and he was standing in a slack-jaw sort of way, staring randomly at nothing. Dan wasn't the kind of person to stare randomly at nothing, whether he'd just had a ghostly mid-death crisis or not.

Then he blinked a couple of times.

Three times to be exact, and after he opened his eyes the third time they were no longer the blazing and angry red that they had been for so long.

They were brilliant neon green.

"D-Dan?" Danny stuttered and was suddenly dragged backwards across the floor by a cold hand under his good arm. Clockwork, with a pleasant smile on his face, had pulled him away from Dan. Every eye in the room was on Danny's future self; even Vlad and Tucker had put down the extensive technology at their finger tips to see what was going on.

A red mist started to seep out of Dan's skin and he stared at his hands in wonder as it rose into the air. A strange gust of wind that none of the others felt blew the red mist to the side and as it went, they were able to see what was happening.

As the crimson haze stopped blocking their field of vision, they saw that as it streaked away from Dan's face, it changed the sickly bluish color of his flesh to a pallid skin tone. The tips of his gloved fingers melted away from the clawed ends they had been to regular humanoid digits, his cloak tossed itself around and suddenly filtered into a black silk cape, his jumpsuit faded into the familiar design that Phantom wore, and his flaming neon white hair slipped down in front of his eyes like the snow white color it had become.

The newly reformed Dan Phantom blinked at himself as the last of the red mist was blown away from his body and then tilted his head to look beside him. There hovered an after image of Plasmius, made completely of the spiteful red energy that had fueled Dan's rage for so long. The hazy Plasmius looked at peace though; he sighed, blinking slowly at Dan, and gave a small, sad smile, before breathing out slowly and evaporating into nothing.

"What…just happened…?" Sam whispered, eyes wide as she stared at Dan.

"He realized the truth," Clockwork murmured and Danny looked up at him.

"What truth?" Dan asked; his voice was warm chocolate, no longer the cold, hate-filled thing it had been.

"You tell me." The Time Ghost smiled, leaning on his staff.

Dan scowled at him and then flicked his glowing greens eyes that so resembled Phantom's to his hands, "I…never hated…the world…" He spoke softly, like he wasn't even sure about the truth of his own words, "I wanted something to be angry at but my selfish pride wouldn't let me blame myself so I turned it on the world and blamed _them_ for taking away what was precious to me…" He didn't stop the green tears that started running down his cheeks, "I thought I was helping Clockwork because it would guarantee what _I_ wanted for one; guarantee _my_ freedom! But I didn't hate the world…I hated myself…for everything I'd failed to do…for the failure I'd become…" He looked up at the group who was still staring at him, "I…I…I'm…sorry…"

Jazz sighed and smiled and then Sam was smiling and then Fenton and Phantom both broke into identical grins and even Tucker cracked a tentative smile.

"Okay, enough water works!" Danny stated, "You're ruining our image!" Dan made a watery growling noise at him but rubbed his eyes dry, "Good! Now go help Vlad and Tuck finish that thing!"

"And who are you to order me around?" Dan ran a hand through his white hair to get it out of his vision but walked over to Tucker and Vlad to help anyway.

"Hey Clockwork," Danny muttered in a low voice and the Master of Time bent down so he could hear the young Fenton boy, "You knew, didn't you? That's why you let him out."

"I did know," Clockwork replied, "But Dan had to find it on his own. He finally let go of the hatred that was controlling him and faced the truth about himself." Clockwork's red eyes traveled over to watch Dan, "But I doubt the hole in his heart will ever completely mend. He will forever be scarred by the explosion that took his past."

"Just…like me." Danny said idly, his thoughts elsewhere as he twisted around to watch the trio work. Then he yawned loudly, "I'm taking a nap, Clockwork, all this drama wears me out. Wake me up when the machine's finished."

Clockwork unclasped his cloak, carefully folded it up, and lay it on the floor. Danny smiled his thanks and lay his head on it, shivering at the cold before closing his eyes and attempting to fall asleep. Phantom dragged himself over (with one arm working, that's quite a feat) and lay his head on Danny's chest. Danny opened an eye to peer sullenly at his other half and then closed it again.

All of this chaos would be over soon enough.

* * *

_What? Did you really think it would end that way?_

_**What would end?**_

_You won't get off so easy, Danny._

_**What if I said sorry?**_

_Sorry doesn't change a mistake. Or destiny._

_**This is a dream…this is all a stupid dream! Wake up, Danny, wake up!**_

_He found himself, once again, standing in front of those thousands of faceless kids he'd never known. Sam, Tucker, ZeE, and Alex stood in the front of the crowd, glaring at him with hurt and angry eyes…_

…_The image suddenly melted before his eyes and he fell into something like a fantasy. His home, everyone happy. Everyone smiling and laughing. The way things had been. _

_**It wasn't a mistake.**_

_He was holding Sam. His Sam._

_**It was an accident. And it wasn't my fault.**_

_And he was kissing her. Just like he used to._

_**It's only a dream.**_

_That was what he wanted to protect._

_**So I can set it right.**_

* * *

Danny cracked his eyes open and abruptly realized that Phantom was not the only one who had fallen asleep on top of him. Sam was snuggled up to his other side with her hand resting gently at the base of his neck and Tucker was curled up by his feet like a loyal dog. He turned his head carefully and saw Clockwork watching them with an amused expression.

"Bet you think this is funny, huh?" Danny huffed in a whisper.

"Actually, yes." The Ghost of Time gave a low chuckle and started spinning his staff around and around in his fingers, "The second containment unit is almost ready but I suggested to Vlad that you have something to eat before you and Phantom are fused together again. Jasmine is in the kitchen at the moment, making a meal."

"Good, I'm starving." Danny stretched, carefully pulling his good arm out from underneath Phantom, and popped his jaw, "Say, Clockwork, when I'm Danny Phantom again will this," He waved a hand at his chest where his shirt covered the damage done by his broken DNA, "Go away?"

"Mmmmm, I believe so."

"That's not very encouraging." Danny frowned.

"Yes, Danny, it will go away. You're DNA will, once, again be as it should be." The Time Master's eyes suddenly became shadowed, "And I think those Observants will need to be taught a…lesson."

"I thought those guys only observed and never acted." Sam had woken up somewhere along the lines of the conversation but had not moved her hand off of Danny.

"They are not supposed to act." Clockwork responded, probably a little sharper than he meant to, "It is against their creation. Their displeasure is mirrored in the events they have triggered." Animosity emanated from Clockwork and Danny glanced worriedly at Sam. Phantom suddenly sneezed, making Danny jump away with a yelp.

"I smell…something gooooooddd!" Tucker was up in an instant, looking expectantly towards the stairwell. Jazz appeared a few moments later carrying a tray loaded with bowls of steaming soup.

"I didn't know if the ghosts wanted some so I made up bowls for you and Dan," She said to Clockwork, holding the tray out of Tucker's grasp with a smile that didn't show in her annoyed eyes.

Clockwork's anger vanished and the warmth returned to his red eyes as he smiled back, "Thank you for the thought, Jazz, but I—."

"I get Clocky's!" Dan lunged at the tray and swept away two bowls and took a place hovering near the ceiling where he would not be disturbed. Tucker scowled at him and Clockwork shook his head. The techie took the bowl Jazz offered to him and sat, cross-legged on the floor with a huff. Vlad grudgingly took his own bowl and hid himself behind one of the containment units so that no one could see him enjoying it.

Sam and Jazz both finished their own off quickly so they could help Phantom and Fenton eat. Having one working arm made a lot of things difficult.

Afterwards, Jazz stacked the empty bowls on the tray and dropped them back upstairs while Vlad added the finishing touches to the second containment unit. Danny felt a nervous sort of excitement building up inside him; this was it, the end. He would be Danny Phantom again and that would be the end of this stupid mess.

He hoped.

"Done…" Vlad said with a sigh as he wiped his hands clean on a rag. Amazingly, there was not a single smudge on his perfect black suit. His turquoise gaze locked with Danny's brilliant blue one, "Are you ready, Daniel?"

"Um…yeah…" Danny found he'd almost lost his voice and swallowed thickly. Sam put a hand on his shoulder.

Vlad glanced at Clockwork who gave a small nod of approval and the millionaire hauled Phantom up and helped him into one of the containment units. Phantom squirmed in the man's grip but didn't struggle too much. He did, however, make faces as soon as Vlad turned his back. Danny watched, slightly bemused and wary. Yes, he wanted to live, yes, he wanted to protect his friends and family, and yes, he cared about the people of Amity Park but…that was all for nothing when he thought about the thousands of lives that had been lost due to his stupidity and cluelessness.

Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Dan, Vlad, Phantom, and Clockwork all looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to step into the second containment cylinder and become Danny Phantom once more. The millions of different thoughts spinning through his mind made his brow crease and hesitation sparkle in his eyes.

"Danny." Dan Phantom suddenly towered over him, not looking quite as formidable in his new form, "Danny look at me." Dan grabbed the boy's chin and forced him to look him in the eye, "Listen to me, okay! What happened wasn't your fault!" He released him but kept his green eyes locked with those blue ones, "You can't _always_ save everyone and you know that! People die all the time, it's a part of friggen' _nature_! War! Disease! Famine! Mistakes…" The older version shook himself and continued, "All that stuff you read about in your history books! You can't _stop_ that! It's _going_ to happen and there's nothing you can do about it so stop throwing this pity party, get off your lazy, whiny, little rear, and save _yourself_ for once!"

Danny blinked at him, a little shocked at the speech he'd just gotten from his older self, and then glanced at Phantom who shrugged. Danny smiled.

"I rest my case…" Dan muttered and stomped back over to stand beside Clockwork. The Master of Time hid his approval by tinkering with the clock at the end of his staff.

"Alright…" Danny took a deep breath, "I'm going to do this. I'm doing this for my family. And for Amity Park." His blue eyes locked with Sam's lilac ones, "And I'm doing this for you guys." He nodded at Vlad who rolled his eyes but helped the young boy into the second containment unit.

Danny smiled at Sam as Vlad stepped back and threw the switch.

* * *

You'd think I'd be nicer after not having updated for so long but then, I'm pretty much know for leaving my readers with rotten cliffhangers. XD Still, I'm sorry for not updating in…a long time. Can you guys forgive me?

It's probably going to be really slow from here on out because I'm obsessed with Chaotic and I've been working almost non-stop on 'The Other Side' since I posted it. Yeah, and this and 'Shadows Are Supposed To Stay Sleeping' are sitting on my thumb drive…gathering dust…giving me a guilty feeling every time I see them and don't open the files…(gulp)

Well, thanks for putting up with me and, as always, thanks for reading, please leave me a review, and have a great day!


	24. Everything's As It Should Be

Well, well, well, I usually announce if something's going to be the last chapter, don't I? This time I didn't see it coming myself. Anyway…welcome to the final chapter of the first part of Melody in Black. The second will arrive shortly. In the meantime…enjoy…

* * *

**Twenty-Four: Everything's As It Should Be

* * *

  
**

"Alright…" Danny took a deep breath, "I'm going to do this. I'm doing this for my family. And for Amity Park." His blue eyes locked with Sam's lilac ones, "And I'm doing this for you guys." He nodded at Vlad who rolled his eyes but helped the young boy into the second containment unit.

Danny smiled at Sam as Vlad stepped back and threw the switch.

Brilliant white light lit the entire lab and the humans all raised their hands to shield their eyes. Crackling energy shook dust from the ceiling. Tucker stumbled sideways into a control panel. There was a loud cracking noise and the sound of something shattering into a million pieces.

In seconds it was over.

The glass of the containment units had splintered into tiny fragments all over the floor and there was thick, gray smoke billowing out of both of them. Sam waved her hands through the air, coughing, trying to get the stuff out of her eyes.

A cold gust of wind raised the goosebumps on her arms.

A shadowy figure loop-dee-looped through the dissipating smoke, hands on their hips in a triumphant pose of victory.

As the smoke cleared, a messy mop of snow-colored hair became visible, a familiar smile followed on pale lips, then the white DP symbol emblazed upon a black chest, and then Danny came all the way into view.

He scanned the group below him with a grin, sucked in a huge breath of air, and burst out laughing, doubling over in midair and just plain laughing. Then he flipped over backwards and shot towards the floor, tackling Sam to its cold surface. He was still laughing.

"Oh my _gosh_! I've never felt so alive!" Danny shouted. Then he grabbed either side of Sam's face in his cold, gloved hands and kissed her full on the mouth.

Sam's eyes widened at first but then she closed them and wrapped her arms around Danny's waist. Danny ran his fingers down her neck and over her shoulders to her sides where he teased the edges of her shirt. Sam arched her back, smiling in the middle of the kiss, and rolled over, pinning Danny underneath her.

"None of that." She muttered, hair curtaining her red tinted cheeks that matched the boy's beneath her. Confusion replaced her smile, "Danny…you're eyes…"

"What? What about them?" Danny wriggled out from underneath the girl and looked around at the others, "What? Why're you all giving me that look?"

Clockwork chuckled, "Perhaps everything was not put together exactly as it should be."

Dan gave a barking laughing, "You're telling me! How you're gonna explain that one to Mom and Dad is going to be tough!"

"What!?" Danny yelled, stomping over to snatch Tucker's PDA from his hands ("Hey!" Tucker made a valiant swipe to get it back), "What's so funny!? Oh…" Reflected in the surface of his friend's device was his familiar face with one slight difference. Instead of two solid, neon green, glowing eyes looking back at him from underneath his bangs there blinked one green eye; his left; and one crystal blue eye from his human form; his right.

"I must say, Daniel, it gives you a rather mysterious look." Vlad teased, unable to help himself. Jazz was hiding her laughter behind her hand.

"Oh you have _got_ to be joking!" Danny shoved the PDA back into Tucker's hands and stepped back, clenching his fists. A white ring of light sparked into existence around his middle and split u and down his body. His black and white jumpsuit was replaced by a white and red T-shirt, baggy blue jeans, and red and white sneakers. But his eyes remained the same; one blue and one green.

"No joke, Little Brother." Jazz snickered, "Glad to have you back!" She drew her younger sibling into a hug. Danny twisted uncomfortably in her grasp for a moment or two and then hugged her back. As they were about to release one another, Tucker suddenly threw himself onto his best friend's back.

"T-Tucker!" Danny shouted, "You're _throttling _me!"

Tucker merely laughed.

Sam and Dan both grinned at one another, the first non-negative interaction the two had really had, and then joined the giant group hug. Clockwork and Vlad stood away from them, watching them laughing and hugging each other. Vlad's expression was one of soft blankness. Clockwork raised an eyebrow at the man and Vlad scowled.

"Don't even say "I told you so."" The millionaire growled, eyes narrowed.

"I don't need to." The Time Master said quietly, "Dan." The tone in the ghost's voice made everyone turn around, the laughter dying on their lips, "I think, perhaps, it is time for you to go home." Clockwork spun his staff through the air and a portal glimmered into life, depicting the ruins of Amity Park.

"Oh…yeah…home…" Dan Phantom huffed, sending his white bangs into the air for a brief moment, "I've got a huge mess to clean up and a lot of explaining to do. Hopefully I can get it all out before Valerie blasts me into oblivion." He gave a half-hearted snort of laughter, "Alright, no point in delaying the inevitable." He moved towards the screen.

"Dan, hold up!" Danny lunged forward and his future self turned back around, "Thanks." The human-formed halfa held out his hand, a genuine smile on his face.

Dan processed exactly what had been said to him and then smiled back. He hadn't heard those words in almost thirteen years. He took Danny's hand and shook it, "Next time I see, you'd better not be falling apart." He chided.

"You can bet on it!" Danny laughed, "See ya'!"

"Yeah…" Dan said with a vague smirk, "See ya'…" He saluted Vlad and Clockwork, winked at Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, thumped his chest with a clenched fist to Danny, and then fell backwards into the portal to his own time. As the last, tail-end of his cloak vanished, the portal closed in itself with soft ringing noise.

"Guess that means it's time for us to go too." Danny said with a sigh. Then he screwed up his courage, set his shoulders, and goose-stepped up to Vlad, "Thanks." He muttered.

Vlad hid his surprise with a well placed sneer of superiority, "You're most welcome, Daniel. About the compensation…"

Danny's eyes narrowed and glowed white with anger.

"…you don't have to worry." The millionaire added hastily. The façade melted away slightly and Vlad put a hand on Danny's shoulder, "Take care of yourself, Danny, and your family. You won't have to worry about me for a while. I think I'll take a little…vacation."

"Bye, Vlad." Danny grabbed the man's hand off his shoulder and pumped it up and down, "Don't forget to write!"

"Off with you!" Vlad Masters scolded and disappeared behind his contraptions.

Danny wheeled about and pounced on his two best friends and older sister before spinning around to face Clockwork.

"Okay!" He told the Master of Time, "Let's go home!"

* * *

It felt so good to be back.

Danny raced around the whole house, laughing and shouting, and got scolded by the others who were making an attempt to clean it up. Clockwork had left the four-some to their own devices but not before taking Danny aside and speaking with him privately. The other three had no inclination of what had been said and Danny wouldn't tell them. He simply chuckled and said: "Fear is natural. Charging into battle despite the fear is what makes someone a hero."

The house was cleaned up fairly easily. There was an ectoplasmic stain where the couch had been that wouldn't come out but once they'd set the furniture the way it was supposed to be you couldn't see it anyway.

Then Jazz made Tucker and Sam call their parents while she cooked something to eat. Tucker's parents were relieved to hear from him and completely bought his excuse that he, Sam, Jazz, and Danny had run to Mayor Masters who was Jazz and Danny's legal guardian when their parents weren't around. Sam's parents were not so forgiving; she got a huge lecture but amazingly escaped without being grounded. Not doubt due to their relief of finding her alive.

While they ate there was much talk and laughter. Dinner was delicious. Danny ate twice as much as he had in days and then slumped onto the couch in the living room, exhausted but extremely happy. Sam sat down next to him and he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her neck.

Sam stifled a giggle as his cold breath tickled her skin and pushed him back so she could look at him. "You're eyes are beautiful." She told him.

"So are yours." Danny replied, face turning red even as he said it.

"And that's the cue!" Tucker wrapped an arm around his best friend's neck and hauled him backwards over the arm of the couch, "Sam and I have to get home before we're grounded for life!"

Danny coughed and pried himself free of Tucker's grasp, rubbing his neck and scowling, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, alright. Whatever." The boy laughed and yawned loudly, "I'm tired anyway." He grinned at his best friends, "Tomorrow. Sam's place. Ratchet: Deadlocked. You and me."

"Count on it!" Tucker shouted and bounced out the door to where Jazz was waiting with her car to take them home.

"Don't try and disappear again or I'll kill you myself." Sam teased. Then she leaned in and kissed him. Danny ran his hand through her hair, the other lightly resting on her waist. He'd missed this so much.

"Bye…" She whispered, pulling away. And then, in a louder voice, "And I call a match against the winner!" She ran out the door as well.

Danny stood for a few moments, eclipsed in bliss, and then bolted upstairs to his bedroom as he heard the car pull away. He jumped onto his bed with a yell of joy, bounced off the mattress, and fell to the floor on the other side. Giggling like a child, he pulled himself back onto his bed and stretched out on top, tucking his hands behind his head.

His mismatched eyes watched the models of space shuttles turn lazily around on his ceiling.

It was so good to be home.

Life was perfect.

He closed his eyes, smile fading as his thoughts trailed to other things.

Well, almost perfect.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


End file.
